Memory
by Nacei
Summary: PostGSD,AxC. A strange and sinister enemy attempts to take Cagalli's life repeatedly. How many times will she be saved before her luck runs out? COMPLETE.
1. Memory

**Memory**

**Part 1**

What did it feel like to be in love?

Cagalli mused to herself as she leaned against the balcony railing. Her busy work life ensured that love was the last thing on her mind, but today – today of all days, the old ghosts of her past decided to pay her a visit.

It was Athrun's birthday, wasn't it? Was that why she had suddenly thought of him? No, that was wrong- she hadn't _suddenly_ thought of him. The truth was that he was constantly on her mind, though she tried her best not to probe too deeply into things where Athrun was concerned.

When did it all start to fall apart? Why did it fail? Were they too different? Maybe it was doomed from the start – they had been enemies all along, hadn't they? Even when they first met, even then…

It was on that island when he sprung up from nowhere and pinned her down to the sandy ground. He was going to kill her, the wickedly curved dagger in his hand ready to plunge down into her body. Then he stopped, and Cagalli forced her tightly shut eyes to wrench open. He was looking at her with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"You're… You're a girl."

A smile settled on Cagalli's lips as she thought about that fateful day. The beginning is always such a beautiful thing – so unjaded and innocent, so utterly perfect and whole. _Too bad things turned out this way_, she thought, and tears rose up her throat and threatened to fall as they had for so long.

She swallowed them; she wasn't ready to start being sad again. She had grown increasingly numb these days, and thought it wasn't very pleasant, it was better than the sharp pains she had whenever she used to think about him. The way he used to look at her, the way his green eyes would sparkle with happiness, the way he teased her, consoled her, held her…

…The way he loved her.

It was too late for her to hold back her tears, this time they couldn't stop flowing. She crumpled to the floor, thankful that Kisaka had gone on vacation, thankful that Kira was out having dinner with Lacus – at least she didn't have to worry about one of them demanding to come in and finding out what was wrong.

_It was your decision, remember? You promised yourself you wouldn't regret it._ She urged herself to stop crying, stuffing her knuckles in her mouth to muffle the sobs. Thought both Kisaka and Kira weren't around, it would still be equally disastrous if one of the maids heard her crying. What would they think? Cagalli Yula Attha, Princess of the Orb, reduced to crying over an incident that happened so long ago that people had probably forgotten about it.

But not her, she would never forget the day she took off his ring and told Meyrin to take care of him. She couldn't be there for him, so she let him go instead. She was shivering now, her teeth sinking deeper into her knuckles. She would have to wear gloves tomorrow, or they would surely ask why there were bite-marks all over her hands.

And so the war was over, and Meyrin and Athrun had emerged from it closer than ever. Who was she then? Who was Cagalli? She was a stranger to them, and they were all strangers to her. Her conversations with Athrun always ended in awkward silence, and somehow she seemed to have lost a part of her.

How was it possible that he didn't love her anymore?

She had a sudden yearning to hear Athrun's voice, and hesitatingly, she reached over for her phone and dialed his number. She could just wish him happy birthday, couldn't she? She waited for him to pick up, and when he finally did, her heart skipped a beat.

"Hello?" His voice sounded, rich as she remembered it. She accidentally let out a small choke, and then tried to compose herself.

"Hello?" He repeated, this time with a tinge of irritation.

"Athrun? This is Cagalli." She finally managed the mumble out.

"Cagalli, oh, hey, what's up? You sound…weird." Cagalli could hear soft laughter in the background, was that _Meyrin?_ Another laugh, then a female voice going, "Athrun, hurry up, your soup's getting cold" – definitely her. A wave of jealousy came over Cagalli, and she tried to push it down.

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine. What's wrong?"

"I said I'm fine."

"Whoa, no need to get defensive. So…erm…not to be rude, but why are you calling?"

"Athrun, I… just wanted to wish you…Happy Birthday."

"You remembered? Ha, thanks." He sounded pleasantly surprised.

"Erm. Yeah. No problem. Bye then." She blurted out as fast as she could, slamming the phone down.

"Hey, wait –" She could hear his voice, shocked and momentarily taken aback. She smiled sadly, and with trembling hands she took out a photo from her top drawer. Her and Athrun, his arm was around her waist and they were both flushed with happiness. She opened her bottommost drawer and shoved the photo in as deep as she could.

_I'm being silly, I know I am. I should move on, get to know more people._

_But you won't – _her mind countered – _you won't because falling love with someone else means saying goodbye to Athrun permanently. And you can't bear to say goodbye, can you?_

_ I will. You'll see. I'll get over Athrun, I just have to. _She vowed silently. _I'll fall in love with someone else, someone better…_

…_Someday._

_

* * *

_

"Who was that?" Meyrin asked, dipping her bread into the lobster bisque.

"Oh. Cagalli." Athrun mumbled absently. He fiddled with his spoon, stirring his soup and pushing the chunky bits to a corner of the bowl.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She called to wish me happy birthday."

"That's nice of her." Meyrin smiled.

"It is."

They lapsed into silence as Meyrin continued eating. Athrun was frowning, Cagalli had sounded so… unlike her… over the phone. In all of his memories, Cagalli's voice had always been so full of life, so confident and fiery. Never had he heard her sound so exhausted and defeated… so dead

"Do you want to see her, Athrun?" Meyrin's voice gently interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Do you want to see Cagalli?"

Athrun's head snapped up and he met Meyrin's eyes. She smiled gently and then looked down at her food.

"I don't mind, go see her Athrun."

"I…Meyrin…"

"I understand."

Reluctantly, Athrun grinned.

"What do you understand?"

"You still love her, don't you Athrun?"

Her question caught him by surprise and he gaped at her.

"I…I don't know, Meyrin. I don't know."


	2. Danger

**Part 2**

Previously-

"_Do you want to see Cagalli?"_

_Athrun's head snapped up and he met Meyrin's eyes. She smiled gently and then looked down at her food._

"_I don't mind, go see her Athrun."_

"_I…Meyrin…"_

"_I understand."_

_Reluctantly, Athrun grinned._

"_What do you understand?"_

"_You still love her, don't you Athrun?"_

_Her question caught him by surprise and he gaped at her._

"_I…I don't know, Meyrin. I don't know."_

_

* * *

_  
The way Athrun Zala was driving would have made the traffic police raise their eyebrows and throw a couple of fine tickets at him, that is, if they could even catch him. It was highly uncharacteristic for him to be driving so recklessly, but he was disturbed by the flatness of Cagalli's voice over the phone.

"_I said I'm fine" _She had insisted when he tried to probe into her troubles, but Cagalli was never good at hiding her feelings, especially from him.

_But I have to admit; she's gotten a whole lot better at disguising her emotions nowadays. _He mused thoughtfully to himself. She remembered how transparent she used to be in the past, and how easily she flared up when she got irritated. She was like the sun – fiery, warm and full of life.

_Why is she hiding? _He thought desperately, _Where was that girl I once knew?_

He stopped at the gates of the palace, a guard asked him who he was and business he had.

"Good Evening. This is Mr. Athrun Zala, I'm here to see the Princess." He dug into his pockets and showed the guard a pass.

"Have you made any prior appointment, Mr. Zala?"

"No."

"Just a moment please." There was a short pause, and the guard mumbled a while on the walkie-talkie. A minute later, the gates were opened and Athrun drove in.

Meanwhile, Cagalli Yula Attha was pacing around her room like a nervous chicken. She had jumped when the phone rung, and she steadied her voice before answering.

"Your Highness, a Mr. Athrun Zala has come to see you. Should I let him in?" Her breath stilled in that moment, and she hesitated. Then, squaring her shoulders, she agreed. After she had hung up, she had rushed to the toilet, washed her face, and tried to reduce the size of the puffiness around her red-rimmed eyes. She could have laughed at herself had she not been so nervous. It was Athrun, for Pete's sake, Athrun, the one who had held her hand, kissed her, hugged her, and probably seen her cry about a hundred times before. Why was she feeling nervous? Why were there millions of overly energetic butterflies in her stomach fluttering around?

There was a sharp rap at the door. "Mr. Athrun Zala."

She breathed deeply and tried to tell her that such excitement was ridiculous. She said it to herself so convincingly that it would have worked – if it had been anyone but Athrun.

"Come in." Her voice wavered a bit, but she at least she managed to get them out despite her heart feeling like it was going to burst. The door opened and _he _walked in, tall and handsome as she had remembered him to be. He smiled at her, and suddenly she felt like smiling too. He shut the door softly and walked towards her.

"Hello Cagalli." He said gently.

"Hey…" Cagalli replied stumblingly, "So. Erm. To what do I owe the honour of your visit?"

"I just wanted to see how you were, and I… suppose I wanted to talk to you."

"Erm. Okay."

They stood there in awkward silence, staring at each other. There was a queer tension in the background, hanging over them tangibly as they tried to put into words what they had been feeling for the past few months. Finally, Athrun started-

"Cagalli, is something wrong? You haven't really been yourself since… well… since the war."

Cagalli stiffened visibly, then she shook her head.

"Nothing's wrong. I've just been… busy with ORB and all that, and, well you know how it is, there's too much to do and so little time and, everything seems to be different nowadays – I guess what I'm trying to say is, I really miss you."

Cagalli gaped in horror when she realized what she had just said. They had just slipped out of her mouth once they popped into her head. Furiously blushing, she glared at Athrun, who was smiling amusedly to himself.

"What's so funny?" She snapped, annoyed with herself rather than at him.

"N…Nothing." Athrun said, looking as though he was trying to contain his laughter.

"Th-Then why are you smiling that way!"

"Because, Cagalli, I feel the same way."

It would have been a perfectly romantic moment, if not for the fact that at that very second, Cagalli stepped back and tripped on something that had been lurking underneath the carpet. She cursed as she stumbled, her shoe had caught on the edge of the carpet – and revealed something rather sinister underneath.

It was a blinking black device, and as Athrun stepped toward it, his face paled when he confirmed his suspicion.

"Cagalli. You're going to have to leave."

"What?"

"Cagalli. There's a bomb attached to your floor. And it's going to blow in 5 minutes."

* * *

_Note:_

_This is my first time writing fanfic so heartheartheart to all who reviewed. Haha. I feel so loved. Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try to keep them in mind, and hopefully this story turns out alright (Y). -Nacei _


	3. A lucky escape

**Part 3**

Previously -

"_Because, Cagalli, I feel the same way."_

_It would have been a perfectly romantic moment, if not for the fact that at that very second, Cagalli stepped back and tripped on something that had been lurking underneath the carpet. She cursed as she stumbled, her shoe had caught on the edge of the carpet – and revealed something rather sinister underneath._

_It was a blinking black device, and as Athrun stepped toward it, his face paled when he confirmed his suspicion. _

"_Cagalli. You're going to have to leave."_

"_What?"_

"_Cagalli. There's a bomb attached to your floor. And it's going to blow in 5 minutes."_

_

* * *

_  
"Wh… _A bomb?"_

Cagalli stood there, still for a moment, unable to process Athrun's words.

"Yes. A bomb. Get out of here." Athrun pushed Cagalli towards the door while he picked up the phone from its cradle on Cagalli's desk. Putting the phone to his ear, all he could hear was a rush of static. Fear as cold as ice was settling itself in his stomach now. He took his cell phone from his pocket, and to his dismay there was no reception.

_A jammer._ He realized, his eyes widening in shock. _Someone's jammed the telecommunications in the palace – or at least in this room. _

A sharp exclamation of pain shook Athrun out of his thoughts. Cagalli was jumping around the room massaging her foot. Apparently, Cagalli had found the door locked when she tried to open it, and as Cagalli would do, she tried to kick it open. The door as expected, stayed firmly shut.

"Someone's sabotaged the phone lines." Athrun said quietly. He bent down and examined the bomb carefully. The black device could have fit in the palm of his hand, and aside from the glowing red numbers which were ominously counting down, there was a number pad.

"Is there anyway we can stop this thing? Like maybe cut a wire or something?" Cagalli asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

Athrun shook his head as he pointed out the number pad to her.

"A new design. Came out last month. The bomb is deactivated when the right code is typed in."

"Oh. Damn."

"It's no good. It'll detonate if the wrong code is given. We have to be absolutely sure, and that's quite impossible. No, deactivating the bomb isn't an option. The phones are dead, so we can't call for help. The door is firmly locked, so I don't think we can escape either."

Cagalli glared at Athrun, couldn't he see that she already knew that? Why was he so cool and collected even now? Wasn't he afraid at all?

"Well, then, do we just sit here and wait to die or something?" She struggled to keep her voice from trembling. _Good going, Cagalli, _she told herself dryly, _better angry at Athrun than to admit that you're scared. _

The numbers blinked eerily. 3 minutes left.

Athrun didn't answer. He walked around the room, and then finally stopped at the ceiling-high curtains, which were currently drawn. He pushed the curtains to one side, and smiled, apparently satisfied, when he saw the window. Trying to open it, he found them locked.

"Do you have the key?" He turned to Cagalli, finally addressing her.

"It's not here with me." She said, calming herself down. "But who needs a key – there are other ways to open a window."

Cagalli walked over to her desk.

"Come on, help me push this." Cagalli positioned herself behind the desk, and was wildly motioning for Athrun to join her. Athrun grinned and complied. The both of them pushed with all their might, and soon, the heavy oak table was next to the window. Cagalli panted in exhaustion, her limbs felt ready to give out. She stumbled over her own feet, and Athrun steadied her.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I just need to rest-"

She sneaked a peek at the bomb.

1 minute.

Panic shot through her, and somehow, she didn't feel so tired anymore.

"Alright, lets break this window. On three. One, two… Three!" With a swing, the desk was sailing out into the night sky. Shards of glass littered the floor, and Cagalli cringed as one of them cut her arm. Where the glass once stood was a jagged hole.

30 seconds.

"Ok. Let's jump." Athrun said. "It's a good thing your office overlooks the swimming pool."

"You don't say." Cagalli looked down, and almost immediately, she regretted it.

_Whoaaa._

The swimming pool seemed awfully far away from where they were. What if they jumped and missed? What if they landed on the concrete? What if –

"Come on, Cagalli. We have to jump now."

20 seconds.

"I…I…" Cagalli's feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, and her tongue seemed frozen as well. She felt dizzy from the vertigo, and she shook her head as she tried to clear it.

Athrun picked her up in his arms, ignoring her protests. She held on to him as he stood at the edge of the ledge, preparing to take the plunge.

"Look. Athrun. Whatever happens, I just want you to know that I still… erm…that is to say…I lo-…Er…" She blushed, unable to get the words out.

Athrun chuckled. "Yeah. Me too. But don't worry, we're going to get out of this just fine. I promise you."

10 seconds.

She heard his sharp intake of breath as he prepared himself, then the next thing she knew, they were falling.

There was a giant splash as both of them hit the surface of the cool water below, and Cagalli felt knocked off balance as the water rushed up to greet her. Dazed, she seemed to blank out at the floor of the pool, the water hurting her eyes as she tried to breathe. Water entered her nostrils, and she choked for a while before Athrun pulled her up to the surface.

Somewhere above, there was a loud explosion and an inferno blazed, devouring what had once been Cagalli's office.

* * *

A walkie talkie buzzed, piercing the hot silence of the night. In the bushes, a mysterious figure whispered into it. 

"Operation failed. Target escaped and apparently unharmed. Will be returning to headquarters now. Over."

The voice sounded audibly irritated, and it was through gritted teeth that the stranger's next words were uttered:

"I'll get you yet, _Princess._"

* * *

Cagalli stared up at the burning building, a towel was wrapped securely around her, and the mug of hot chocolate warmed her trembling hands. Beside her, Athrun was giving the police an account of their escape.

_We escaped. We're safe. We're alive._ She thought repeatedly to herself. She bit her lower lip as she tried to breathe normally. Somehow, she didn't feel so safe.

_This isn't the first time. _Her stomach sank horribly. _This isn't going to be the last either…_

"Princess, if it's alright, we would like to take your statement now." Chief Inspector Reyn said kindly to her.

"Uh…oh… Sure."

Cagalli retold her account of the events that took place, and Chief Inspector Reyn nodded as he took notes down.

"Well, seems to match up with Mr. Zala's account. Do you have any idea who did it? Perhaps the same person who perpetrated the last attempt?"

"The _what?_"

Athrun's voice sounded oddly loud and angry. Cagalli stared at him, feeling guilty for some unfathomable reason.

"Erm…It was nothing…" Cagalli said, trying to smile weakly.

"Nothing?" Athrun demanded.

"Well, if you don't mind me saying so Princess, a few attempts on your life isn't nothing." The Chief Inspector said rather testily.

Cagalli's eyes widened in horror as she tried to stop the police officer from talking; _please shut up, please shut up,_ she pleaded in her mind. Unfortunately, the man just rambled on.

"First, that poison in your dinner – well, if it weren't for the fact that you were rushed to the hospital in time – then the time someone tried to knife you – it was admirable that you managed to voice out your suspicion before he could strike you, so that the guards were prepared and stopped him before he reached you, but _honestly,_ that doesn't change things and then there was that bomb in the car… REALLY Your Highness, when are you going to let us increase the security measures? We haven't been able to find the masterminds, and you know that your life is still in danger. You keep saying it's no big deal, but hasn't it occurred to you that you mightn't be so lucky every time?"

Cagalli gave the Chief Inspector a death glare, and she stood up to face him, hands on her hips.

"VERY. WELL. YOU. HAVE. MY. PERMISSION. TO. ENFORCE. THE. NEW. SECURITY. MEASURES." She said, choking out every word.

"Erm…yes…Very good Your Highness, I'll erm… See to it at once…" The Chief Inspector bowed hastily and scurried out of sight, half-expecting Cagalli to pull out a gun and shoot him. Once he was gone, Cagalli turned to face Athrun.

His face was devoid of emotion, and his eyes seemed cold with fury.

_Athrun looks mad._

_**Really **mad._

_Uh oh._


	4. Enter Ryo Handel

**Part 4**

_Cagalli gave the Chief Inspector a death glare, and she stood up to face him, hands on her hips._

"_VERY. WELL. YOU. HAVE. MY. PERMISSION. TO. ENFORCE. THE. NEW. SECURITY. MEASURES." She said, choking out every word._

"_Erm…yes…Very good Your Highness, I'll erm… See to it at once…" The Chief Inspector bowed hastily and scurried out of sight, half-expecting Cagalli to pull out a gun and shoot him. Once he was gone, Cagalli turned to face Athrun. _

_His face was devoid of emotion, and his eyes seemed cold with fury._

_Athrun looks mad._

_**Really** mad._

_Uh oh._

_

* * *

_  
"Erm…" Cagalli stammered, unsure of what to say.

"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was sharp, and seemed to slice the unbearable quiet of the night. She hesitated, looking down at her feet, up at the sky – well, actually, looking anywhere but at him.

"Erm…I…didn't think it was…that important…"

"You were almost killed a couple of times, and you didn't think that it was important enough for me to know?" Athrun asked, his tone furious and disbelieving.

"Well, erm…you didn't ask?" She replied lamely.

"Ask? How was I supposed to know?"

"Yeah? How were _you _supposed to know? You were never around anyway! You never _bothered_ to find out, did you?" She said hotly, irritation starting to bubble up in her.

Cagalli regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. _Ugh… Why can't I ever think before I speak? _She looked at Athrun, whose face now wore an expression of remorse and guilt. His fists were clenched and he shoved them into his pockets.

"I'm…sorry." She said softly. "I didn't mean to-"

"No, you're right. I… I should be the one saying sorry." He looked down at the floor, eyes unable to meet hers.

_He's hurt_, Cagalli thought, and almost at once she felt a lump rising to her throat. No, she couldn't _cry_, not here, not now. She didn't want him to see her cry. She didn't want him to feel worse than he already did.

"I guess I'll be going now." Cagalli said. Athrun remained silent. She walked towards the palace, and then seeming to remember something, she turned around and called out Athrun's name. He was still standing there where she left him, and his head shot up and the mention of his name.

She ran towards him, and slightly out of breath, she took out a soggy piece of green cloth from her pocket.

"Happy Birthday."

Athrun looked at the cloth, took it with both hands, and then stared up at her, lips turning up in a smile.

"Thanks. Mind if I ask… what it's supposed to be?"

"That's… erm… a handkerchief. It's wet cos' …well… we fell into the pool…and I uh…made it myself. Sorry. I can't knit very well. And. Erm. Handkerchiefs are all I can make so. Yeah." Cagalli mentally kicked herself as she blushed yet again. This had to be at least the third time that day. "I know it looks really crappy but…er… it's the thought that counts right?" She asked hopefully, too embarrassed to look at Athrun directly.

To her surprise, Athrun laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, confused.

"Thank you, Cagalli." He leaned down and pressed his lips briefly to hers. Then with a wave, he walked away, his face beet-red and Cagalli quite flustered.

* * *

The next day, Cagalli awoke with a terrible headache. There was a horrible shrill sound coming from her beside table, and for a moment, she thought that someone was being murdered. Then the fog in her head cleared slightly, and she realized that it was just the telephone ringing. 

"Hello?" She mumbled sleepily into the phone.

"Your Highness, this is Chief Inspector Reyn speaking. The new security measures have been enforced."

"Erm…huh?"

"I have stationed more guards within the palace, and have taken the liberty of getting you a new bodyguard. He's been specially trained, and I'm bringing him up to meet you right now if you're ok with that, Your Highness."

Without waiting for an answer, the Chief Inspector went on.

"Alright, I'll take that as a yes then. We'll be up there in about 5 minutes." There was a click, and then the monotonous drone of the dial tone as Cagalli stared at the phone in silence. It took about 10 seconds before the inspector's words got through into Cagalli's mind, and when it did, she let out an exclamation as she jumped up of bed. _5 minutes! I won't be presentable in 5 minutes!_

With that thought ringing anxiously in her mind, the princess rushed into the bathroom, shouting for someone to bring her some clothes.

* * *

"I've just spoken to the Princess, we can go up now." Chief-Inspector Reyn said kindly to the young man beside him. 

Ryo Handel nodded, his emotions carefully guarded like the professional he was. Cool and collected to the end, he had graduated top in the Police Academy, and had gone on to undergo tough training in deserts and the Arctic alike. A talented and promising man, he made an ideal choice for the princess' new security guard, and had been handpicked by Reyn himself.

Presently they climbed the flight of stairs that led to Cagalli's new office, seeing as her old one had been blown up. A guard outside nodded to them as Reyn passed him a card, and then announced in a clear voice-

"Chief-Inspector Reyn and Ryo Handel."

"Enter," a rather breathless voice sounded from within.

The two men went into the room to see a sweaty and tousle-haired Cagalli, breathing heavily from behind her desk. She looked as if she had been in a great hurry (which wasn't too far from the truth), and her countenance contrasted greatly with the pressed neatness of her uniform.

"Your Highness," Reyn said bowing, "This is Ryo Handel, your new security guard."

"Good morning, Your Highness," Ryo greeted, bowing lowly.

"Erm… yes… Well, Reyn, you're… really… _efficient_." Cagalli muttered. "But is this really necessary? I mean-"

"Absolutely, Your Highness. I'm sure you would not want me to recount all those attempted assassinations again."

"No, that won't be necessary." Cagalli pressed her lips together. "Fine, fine, I suppose another guard won't hurt."

She rose from her seat, and stood in front of Ryo, sticking a hand out.

"Well, Ryo – it's ok if I call you Ryo isn't it? I look forward to a good time working together with you."

Ryo looked up and shook her hand, and as their eyes met, Cagalli could finally see his face clearly. She jumped as she saw his features, for they were awfully familiar. Dark brown hair, tanned skin, deep chocolate eyes – he looked… he looked… just like Ahmed…

Ahmed. Her childhood friend. They had been in the resistance forces together. He had been with her through thick and thin, so loyal and trusting, so supportive of her…

The resemblance was startling and they brought back memories, both pleasant and painful. Cagalli looked away as both Reyn and Ryo shared a bewildered look.

"Is everything alright, Your Highness?" Reyn asked at last.

"Yes, of course. Everything's fine." Cagalli managed to produce a smile.

"Right, then, I'll just leave him here with you." Reyn said awkwardly as he inched toward the door. "Do call me if you need any help at all, Your Highness."

He shut the door, leaving Ryo and Cagalli together alone. Shaking her head, Cagalli realized she was at a total loss. What was she supposed to do now? She felt horribly self-conscious as she stood there looking at Ryo. How was she supposed to go about with her work? Was she supposed to ignore Ryo – or constantly talk to him?

"Er…" Cagalli started, unsure of what to say. Sensing her discomfort, Ryo nodded.

"It's alright, Your Highness. Just go on with your work and pretend I'm not here."

"Erm… Right." She sat herself down and took out a thick binder containing notes for the next meeting. After shooting a glance at Ryo, who was standing inconspicuously in a corner near her, she gave a small sigh.

_Ah well… it's going to be a long, long day._

_

* * *

_  
Somewhere out there, a man smiled to himself as he struck a match.

"Let's see how many times you can escape death, my _dear_ princess…"

* * *

Cagalli muttered darkly to herself as she sat seething in the limousine. She was wearing a black dress that reached her knees, an ebony butterfly was fixed in her hair and stilettos at her feet. It was taking all her self-control not to run her fingers in her hair and change into something more comfortable. At the same time, her feet were killing her, making her mood all the more murderous. 

Why – WHY did she listen to Kisaka?

"May I remind you, Princess, that after the meeting this evening you have to attend a ball." He had said to her during lunch when she told him that she was planning to spend the night trying to finish the never-ending stack of paperwork that seemed to multiply by magic if uncleared.

"A…A ball?" Cagalli said suspiciously.

"Yes, as you might recall, tonight ZAFT is throwing their annual ball. They have very politely requested your presence, and you might remember that you _agreed_ to go when they asked last month. Therefore, it would be good if you actually showed up." Kisaka chided.

"Er… Oh damn, I totally forgot about it. Must I really go?" She asked irritably.

"What do you think?" He had replied, taking another bite of the blueberry pie he was having for dessert.

So there she was, forced into a dress and feeling cheated. She knew she herself was to blame, after all, she had previously agreed. Cagalli shook her head, what had she been _thinking_ when she agreed to go? She probably hadn't been thinking at all, she thought to herself dryly.

She looked up from her lap and suddenly realized that Ryo was sitting next to her, staring ahead and saying nothing. She had been so caught up in her irritation that she had forgotten he was there! She decided to talk to him, after all, conversation would take her mind off the persistent pain in her feet.

"So… Ryo… have you attended a ball before?" She started, trying to make her voice sound as happy and friendly as possible.

"Not really, no, I can't say I have."

"Are you… uh… excited?" Cagalli asked desperately, for the want of something better to say.

Ryo shrugged, apparently not knowing how to answer.

"Well, Your Highness, are _you_ excited?" Ryo asked back. Cagalli looked at him with some amount of shock and horror in her eyes.

"Er… do I _look_ like I came here willingly?"

"To be honest, not at all." Ryo said grinning, "But why? I would have thought that someone such as yourself would enjoy going to such functions."

"Not at all. It's a waste of time. Why bother dolling yourself up and dancing the night away when you could be doing work, or even better, sleeping?" Cagalli replied crabbily.

"How true." Ryo laughed, and in his smiling profile, Cagalli marveled at his likeness to Ahmed. It was that same jovial grin, that identical sparkle in the eye – it was all so familiar to her. With a soft gasp, she looked at him silently, lost in a reverie.

"Erm… Princess, are you alright?" Ryo finally asked, noticing that Cagalli had spaced out.

"Oh. Yes. I'm sorry, I was… you just… remind me of someone." She said at last.

"I…See…" Ryo arched his eyebrows, leaving an unasked question as to the regards of the identity of the person hanging the air.

Cagalli chose not to answer. She nodded and glanced out of the window. They drove the rest of the way to the ball in silence.

* * *

A/N: So that's finally up XD I've been really busy lately with school projects and all... But -please- continue reviewing alright ((: It's a great source of motivation, so if you want me to update, you know what to do (hurhurhur :P just joking). Thanks goes out to all those who reviewed! 


	5. The problem with heels

**Part 5**

Previously-

"_How true." Ryo laughed, and in his smiling profile, Cagalli marveled at his likeness to Ahmed. It was that same jovial grin, that identical sparkle in the eye – it was all so familiar to her. With a soft gasp, she looked at him silently, lost in a reverie._

"_Erm… Princess, are you alright?" Ryo finally asked, noticing that Cagalli had spaced out._

"_Oh. Yes. I'm sorry, I was… you just… remind me of someone." She said at last._

"_I…See…" Ryo arched his eyebrows, leaving an unasked question as to the regards of the identity of the person hanging the air._

_Cagalli chose not to answer. She nodded and glanced out of the window. They drove the rest of the way to the ball in silence._

_

* * *

_As the car drove up to the Royal Orb Hotel, a singularly exclusive (and expensive) place where the ball was being held, Cagalli felt a short burst of nervousness. She knew Kira and Lacus were going to be there, but more importantly, so were Meyrin and… Athrun. She had avoided them when they were together, because she felt so alienated from them that it was unbearable. They always seemed to have something to say to each other, but when Cagalli was near, Meyrin always seemed to keep silent while Athrun tried his best to make the conversation between the three work.

_Well, you know what they say: three's a crowd._ Cagalli thought bitterly.

As she entered the hotel and walked through the lavishly designed halls that led the ballroom, she wondered why ZAFT had decided to hold their annual party at Orb. It probably had something to do with Lacus, seeing as she was one of the organizers, and she had decided that this ball would be a perfect opportunity for Cagalli to get to know more people from ZAFT and improve relations between ZAFT and Orb, which wasn't a bad idea actually.

Casting her thoughts back, Cagalli now recalled that it had been Lacus who had more or less bullied her into going for this ball. Though Lacus looked sweet and harmless enough, there were times where she could be _very_ persuasive.

Cagalli waited as the tall golden doors were opened, and a man stepped forward and announced her name to the rest of the guests. There must have been at least a hundred of them; all dressed exquisitely, champagne glasses in hand. She walked down the steps leading to the ballroom carefully, fearing that she might trip and embarrass herself. _Damn these shoes, _she cursed inwardly. _Whoever made up that rule that women had to wear heels to these stupid functions should be shot… _

"Cagalli!" A melodious voice interjected her thoughts as a girl with flowing pink hair skipped towards her happily. She hugged Cagalli, and then stepped back.

"I'm so glad you're here! You look beautiful in that dress." Lacus said, her face radiating with happiness. If it had been anyone else, those words would have sounded hypocritical and fake. But for Lacus, it was different. Lacus was never one to say things she didn't mean, and anything she said came straight from her heart.

A man with brown hair joined Lacus, and he too gave Cagalli a hug.

"Cagalli! Whoa, you look like…"

"Yes, little brother?" Cagalli asked, her voice deceptively sweet, "I look?"

"Well, haha… never mind!" Kira voiced nervously.

"No, no, go ahead – _finish your sentence._"

"Er, well, I was going to say, you… er… look like… er… you're having fun!" Kira said uncomfortably, noticing that Cagalli was glaring at him with a look so venomous it could burn a hole through a sheet of metal. He had, of course, been planning to say that she looked like a girl, but had caught himself in time, recalling the numerous times where he had been suffered her wrath after making that comment. It was a reflex thing, like when someone throws something at you, you catch it or duck – similarly, when he saw Cagalli in a dress, he just had to blurt out that he had once again noticed that his sister was in fact, a girl.

"Really?" Cagalli asked suspiciously.

"Really!" Kira nodded with much conviction. He then looked up next to Cagalli, and suddenly his eyes were clouded in confusion. Cagalli followed his vision, and then saw –

Oh. Ryo. She had forgotten about him - again. Guiltily, she motioned towards him and then toward Kira and Lacus.

"So, er, have you met my new bodyguard? This is Ryo. The chief-inspector thought it would be good for me to have someone following me around all the time because of… those attacks."

Kira and Lacus shook hands with the guard, and then made polite conversation with him, leaving Cagalli bored. Her eyes wandered around the ballroom, the orchestra had started and there were some couples waltzing on the dance floor. _Great, dancing, my favourite,_ she thought dryly. She was about to look away when her eyes caught hold of something- in fact, the last thing she wanted to see.

It was Athrun and Meyrin, and they were dancing.

Cagalli froze and watched as the two of them waltzed round the dance floor. Meyrin looked as pretty as usual, perhaps even more so in the cream dress she wore, and (Cagalli noted enviously) her shoes did not seem to be hampering her in moving as gracefully as she did at all.

But it was Athrun who caught her breath – Athrun in a well-tailored suit, who looked like the perfect gentleman, but whose eyes were far more exciting. Her eyes were glued to him, and for a moment she was oblivious with everything that was happening around her.

Lacus tapped her on the shoulder gently. Cagalli broke out of her trance and stared at her in confusion.

"Cagalli, would you like to get a drink?" She asked kindly.

"Erm…sure…" Tearing herself away from the floor, she made her way towards a waiter who was holding a tray of beverages. Her mind was whirring, reeling, and throbbing with pain. She tried to reason herself once again – after all, it _was_ a _ball,_ and dancing, well, dancing was something that everyone did with everyone else. Right? Right. So why was she still feeling so upset that Athrun had been dancing with Meyrin? Why did it _bother_ her so much? It wasn't as if she owned Athrun, he had a right to dance with anyone he wanted to.

In her distracted state, and given her affinity for heels, the next thing that happened almost didn't surprise her.

There was a crash, a couple of screams, and then Cagalli found herself sprawled next to the unfortunate waiter. Cagalli wanted to hit herself – how the hell did she trip over her own FEET anyway? The colour on her cheeks matched the deep red stain on the carpeted floor where the wine had seeped in. Surprisingly, her dress remained unharmed. Her shoes, however, were a different story… the heel of one shoe had broken off, and the other shoe's buckle looked badly twisted.

By now, there was a small crowd forming around her. Ryo had magically appeared at her side and was helping her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Ye-yeah…" She muttered as she stood up, embarrassed at the amount of attention she was attracting.

"Oh…dear…" Cagalli heard Lacus say, as she made her way through the crowd. She surveyed the mess, nodded towards a few waiters who were now rushing toward the disaster zone with numerous rags and vacuums, and then walked toward Cagalli.

"Cagalli, are you okay? Oh… your shoes! This will never do, and the party's only just started! Well, come now, take this key and go to room 232. There are some shoes that'll fit you, I think, you wear the same size as me, don't you?" Lacus was steering her away from the crowd, and Cagalli felt a rush of gratitude towards her friend.

"Thanks Lacus." She said as she hobbled her way out of the grand golden doors.

"I'd go with you, but some of the arrangements need to be tended to urgently. You'll be safe with Ryo anyway." Lacus replied smilingly as she walked back into the ballroom.

"Huh?" Cagalli looked next to her, and once again, Ryo had teleported to her side. She gave a small start, not knowing that he had been there at all.

"He-Hey! I… uh… didn't see you there." Cagalli said apologetically. Ryo's face remained impassive as he gave a brief nod. The two of them made their way to Lacus' room, with Cagalli shooting Ryo puzzling looks and wondering how her bodyguard managed to move so quickly every step of the way.

* * *

"Was Cagalli hurt?" Athrun asked, half concerned and half amused when he found out what had happened. He had been on the other side of the room, and unable to see what the commotion was about. 

"Nah, she's fine. Lacus sent Cagalli up to her room to get a new pair of shoes. It's lucky that they have the same shoe size, or Cagalli might have had to go home." Kira said thoughtfully, "Although… knowing Cagalli, I don't think she would have minded _that_ too much."

* * *

Cagalli let herself into Lacus' hotel room, and then promptly plopped herself into the nearest chair she could find, and then kicked off the broken shoes off her sore feet. Ryo had immediately checked the room, contented himself that there was no one hiding inside, and then went to guard the door. 

Raising her eyebrow, Cagalli looked skeptically at the guard.

"Do you have to be _this_ paranoid?"

"It's for your safety, Your Highness." He answered.

"Uh. Erm. Right."

She walked around the room barefoot, relishing the feeling of the cool marble floor against her skin. She tapped her chin and tried to remember where Lacus would usually keep her spare shoes.

Suddenly, she felt Ryo tense up.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That noise."

"Er…no…"

"Stay in here, Princess, I'm going out to investigate."

And with that, Ryo walked briskly out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Shaking her head, Cagalli continued her search.

* * *

"Cagalli sure is… taking a long time." Athrun commented to Meyrin as both of them sipped on their champagnes. 

"Where did she go?"

"Kira said she went up to Lacus' room to change her shoes."

"Oh."

"Yeah… do you think I'm being… overly anxious? I mean, it's been half an hour and she's not back yet. Cagalli usually doesn't take that long to change shoes."

"Maybe she can't find one she likes?"

"Erm… that's… highly unlikely."

Athrun frowned, and then placing his empty wine glass on a table, he made up his mind.

"Meyrin, would you mind if –"

"Ah… no… go ahead."

"Thanks." Athrun smiled warmly at her, and after giving her hand a quick squeeze, he rushed out of the ballroom to look for Cagalli.

* * *

Cagalli sat on the couch, reading one of the random magazines that Lacus had left on the coffee table. After flipping through a few articles, she decided that magazines were a waste of money. Who the hell needed to know what lipstick colour was "in"? Or if jeans should be flared or straight? Utter nonsense, she thought. 

She sighed again, bored and restless. Where was Ryo? It had been half an hour, and he still hadn't returned. Something wasn't right. Ignoring his words to stay in the room, she decided to go out and look for him.

But as her hands touched the doorknob, she realized that she couldn't.

Literally.

The door was jammed.

Staring at the door in disbelief, Cagalli tried again. Still, it remained firmly shut. She tried fitting the key into the lock, but still the damned thing refused to open. She started to panic, desperately and futilely twisting the doorknob repeatedly.

_Cagalli Yula Attha, there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON why you should be panicking. I mean, it's just a jammed door! What's the big deal? At the most, you'll get bored. That's all! Calm down, you are overreacting. Yup. That's right._

And that was just when she spotted the acrid black smoke filtering into the room from the gap in between the door and the floor.

* * *

_A/N: aha. I suck at naming hotels! ): Ah well._

_THANKS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED. THIS CHAPTER IS FOR ALL OF YOU LOVELY PEOPLE! (: _


	6. Fire

**Part 6**

Previously-

_Cagalli Yula Attha, there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON why you should be panicking. I mean, it's just a jammed door! What's the big deal? At the most, you'll get bored. That's all! Calm down, you are overreacting. Yup. That's right._

_And that was just when she spotted the acrid black smoke filtering into the room from the gap between the door and the floor._

_

* * *

_Cagalli screamed as she realized what was happening, and then promptly closed her eyes. _Think, girl, think._ She chided herself, _there's no use losing your head now. _She walked round the room to find that it was windowless, and she was dismayed.

_Crap. Crap. Crap._

She tried the phones, but as she had suspected, the line had been jammed. Again.

There was only one thing left to do. Clenching her fist, she gritted her teeth and started banging on the door. Then, in the loudest voice she could manage, Cagalli Yula Attha started shouting for help.

* * *

Athrun ran towards Lacus' room, feeling rather silly. Cagalli was probably fine. Maybe she just wanted to stay up in the room so that she could avoid going back to the party. He was probably overreacting… 

_Oh. Well. It wouldn't hurt to check it out. _

Walking toward the rooms, he stopped as he saw a man on the floor. Frowning, he walked over and gently shook the man by his shoulders. The man groaned in agony, and then cradling his head, he slowly sat up.

"Agghh…"

"Sir, are you alright?" Athrun asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I… OH. THE PRINCESS." The man exclaimed, and then wincing, he tried to get to his feet.

"What!"

"I have… to get… to the Princess…" The man stumbled and then fell, the large swelling bump on the back of his head getting more and more conspicuous by the second. Athrun felt his heart sinking.

_He must be her new bodyguard… _Athrun realized, after matching the man's features to Kira's description of him. _That means… Damn…_

"Where's Cagalli?"

"Miss Lacus' room… I went to check out… a noise… knocked out…" The man managed to choke before blanking out again. Athrun felt his heart sinking as he started running towards Lacus' room once more.

_Please be OK Cagalli, please…_

_

* * *

_Cagalli's knuckles were scraped raw from beating on the door, and her voice was horribly hoarse. She could feel the heat of the flames as she leaned against the door, and she inched away uncomfortably.

The smell of smoke clouded her senses, and she could feel like she was slipping out of consciousness fast. Her head throbbed as she coughed. She crawled to the bed and held the blanket to her nose, trying to filter out the foul grey smoke. Her mind blurred and sharpened, making her feel dizzy.

She was going to die; she just knew it by some strange instinct. Laughing bitterly, she shook her head. Somehow she had never thought that she would be burnt to death, painfully and slowly. But at the rate things were going, she mayn't need to feel it at all… Hell, she could just pass out now and wake up to find herself (hopefully) in Heaven.

Closing her eyes, she started to let go…

"Cagalli!"

Her eyes flew open at the sound of her name. Was she imagining things?

"Cagalli!"

She could have rolled her eyes had she the strength – seriously, she was moments from death and yet her hallucinations wouldn't let her alone. Yet… there was something… very familiar about the voice…

"Cagalli? Are you in there!"

"A… ATHRUN?" Cagalli exclaimed incredulously. "Athrun! What are you _doing _here?"

"Cagalli, I'm coming in to save you alright. Hold on!"

There was a short pause, and Cagalli could hear Athrun's footsteps growing fainter and fainter. She wanted to cry out to him not to leave her, but she knew he would be back to get her. And not a minute later, she heard the sound of his footsteps approaching heavily.

"Cagalli? Are you there?"

"Duh, of course I am, where else could I be?" She said in near exasperation.

"Right. I'm going to break down the door. Stand back."

"But…but..."

Cagalli squeezed her eyes shut as she heard a loud bang. Athrun had obviously thrown himself against the door. A second time, a third time – and then the door flew open and Athrun collapsed to the floor, a blanket smoldering with flames around him. He got up quickly and trampled on the blanket to put out the flames.

"Wh…Where did you get the blanket?" Cagalli asked.

"The linen closet down the hall." Athrun replied grinning.

"Oh." So that explained why he had walked away.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." Athrun removed the bed sheet and then rushed to the toilet, soaking it with water. He did the same with the blanket that Cagalli was holding and wrapped it around her. Then, he wrapped the bed sheet around himself, and then grabbed Cagalli's hand. He tugged at her to start moving, and she near stumbled.

"Are you OK?" Athrun asked, looking concerned.

"Yes." Cagalli snapped back, her eyes flashing, "Of course I am." Then she looked down to the floor and sighed. "I… I'm sorry."

Athrun merely chuckled and squeezed her hand.

"I understand. Let's go, Cagalli."

They started running, Cagalli with her eyes closed and completely depending on Athrun for direction. The hallway was long, and the fire licked at the walls. At first, Cagalli tried to keep her eyes open, but everywhere she looked the amber flames blinded her. Everywhere she stepped there was fire, and she winced as the heat and smoke smothered her.

Then, all of a sudden, she felt a rush of cool air and they came to an abrupt halt. She discarded the thick and heavy blanket that was around her, and knelt onto the carpet, taking in great gulps of air.

_I'm alive… Oh God, I'm alive…_

She started to cry; sobbing as yet another near-death experience left her feeling frightened. Why was this happening to her?

"Cagalli…" Athrun said softly, and she realized that he had knelt down too so that they were at eye-level.

"Athrun… I'm so afraid… I'm so tired and afraid… When will this end?"

Putting his arms around her, he held her close as she dissolved into sobs once more. Stroking her hair, he tried his best to comfort her.

"It's ok… I'll protect you."

Those words were so nostalgic to her, and she smiled amidst her tears. Hadn't he said them once before? She remembered it so clearly, the day he had kissed her during the first war...

* * *

"_What we hope for… what we want… and what we must do…are all the same for everyone, isn't it? Athrun… Kira… Lacus… and me too." She had said, trying to explain why she wanted to fight alongside with him._

"_Cagalli…" He protested quietly._

"_There are things that can't be solved, even if we go to war. But… we have to do it now, don't we? Don't make that kind of expression. You look much more dangerous than I do! I won't just let you die."_

"_Cagalli…" _

"_Even that guy, Kira, who may be my younger brother-"_

"_Younger brother?"_

"_Mmhm"_

"_Isn't he your older brother?"_

"_There is **no** way. He is the younger one." Cagalli said firmly. _

"_That might be…" Athrun said, amused. He hugged her and she started blushing. "It's fortunate that I met you, Cagalli."_

"_Athrun?" She stammered._

"_I will protect you." _

_And then he lowered his lips to hers, and she knew that everything would be all right._

_

* * *

_Cagalli woke up the next morning feeling happier than she had been in the past few days. That was until she realized that she was at the hospital, and that the Chief Inspector and Ryo were standing next to her bed, both looking very worried. Then the events of the night before came tumbling back to her, and that cold chill of fear entered her heart once more.

"Your Highness, I am most apologetic about the low level of efficiency that Ryo here displayed last night. I have brought him here to beg for your forgiveness. He will, naturally, be dismissed from his post." Chief Inspector Reyn glared at Ryo expectantly, and Ryo, who had his head bandaged, looked completely pathetic and abashed.

"I'm very, very sorry, Your Highness. I should have known better than to leave you alone." He said rather mournfully.

"That's ok, Ryo, it wasn't your fault."

"No, it is. I'm sorry. You're in the hospital now, and its all my fault…I'm a worthless, good-for-nothing-"

"It's alright! Really! It's just… I'm just exhausted. That's all. No lasting damage." Then she turned to Reyn, "Really, Chief Inspector, is there a need to dismiss him? I was just getting to know him and all."

"His incompetence is beyond belief." Reyn replied, his lips drawn into a thin line.

Cagalli rolled her eyes. "Really, Chief Inspector, I insist that he stay on."

Ryo's eyes brightened as Reyn reluctantly nodded his head.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Ryo said, his voice full of gratitude.

Just then, the door swung open and Athrun entered the room.

"Well, er, hullo. I just thought I'd drop by. The guards outside didn't say that there was anyone in here. But if you're busy, then I'll come by another time then."

"No, not at all, Mr. Zala. In fact, I was just planning to go." Reyn nodded, and then left the room abruptly, muttering to himself about how it was impossible to get competent staff nowadays.

After Reyn left, Athrun nodded toward Ryo.

"Would it be alright if you left us in private for a while?"

"I'm sorry, but no, sir. I am required to stay by the Princess' side always."

"A few minutes won't hurt."

"I-"

"It's OK Ryo, he's a friend." Cagalli said, smiling weakly. "You just go get yourself something to drink and eat. You must be tired."

Reluctantly, Ryo left the room, sneaking glances back at Cagalli as he did. When the door finally swung shut behind him, Athrun sat by Cagalli's bed.

"So… what is it you want to tell me that you had to say it without my security guard present?" Cagalli asked.

"Well, nothing much. I just don't like him."

"Why?" Cagalli asked, genuinely surprised. Athrun usually got along well with everyone, and seeing as the two men had barely met (as far as she knew, last night had been their first meeting), she could not see how Ryo could have offended him.

"I don't trust him."

"Why not?"

"He left you alone last night to check out a sound that only he heard, and then the next thing you know you're locked in and the entire hallway is set on fire. Coincidence? I think not."

"But you saw it yourself, he was knocked out!"

"It could have been a pretence. But… I didn't come here today to talk about what I feel about your security guard. How are you feeling today?"

"Fine. I guess."

"Have you eaten your breakfast?"

"Nope, I just woke up."

"I see."

They sat there for a while, and Cagalli sensed that Athrun had something more to say, though he was hesitating to say it. He twiddled with his thumbs, raked his fingers through his hair, and fidgeted around until Cagalli was ready to burst.

"Athrun?"

"Huh?"

"Athrun, can you go straight to the point?"

"Right… Well… I've decided to assist Chief Inspector Reyn in investigating your assassinations, Cagalli."

"WHAT? Athrun, don't you have better things to do?"

"I can't sit here and watch you get attacked!"

"But, Athrun, you know it's dangerous. Reyn told me he's lost a few men while trying to trace the assassins. Leave these things to the police…"

"I can't."

"Athrun…"

"You once fought in a Gundam along with me because you didn't want to let me just die. I'm doing the same for you."

He took her hand, and then brushed her blond fringe back.

"I once told you that I would protect you. I promised you that a long time ago, and it still stands. I'll always protect you, Cagalli."

Her eyes softened and filled with tears.

"Thank you, then." She replied simply.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Ahaha... Looks like Athrun suspects the same thing as some of you reviewers XD But, ah well, you never know. Really sorry for the late (and super crappy) update ..; School's being a real pain in the youknowwhat. I'll try to... come up with something good in the next chapter to make up for it. (!) _


	7. Changes

**Part 7**

Previously – 

_He took her hand, and then brushed her blond fringe back. _

"_I once told you that I would protect you. I promised you that a long time ago, and it still stands. I'll always protect you, Cagalli."_

_Her eyes softened and filled with tears._

"_Thank you, then." She replied simply._

_

* * *

_  
Outside the ward, Ryo Handel stood watch along with a troop of guards, trying his best to guard the room, not wanting to screw up again. He stiffened as he heard the sharp click of footsteps approaching.

"Who's there?" He called out.

A willowy figure with flaming red hair emerged and came into sight. The girl stared ahead, and then jumped, apparently taken aback at the number of guards.

"I'm…er… here to see Mr. Zala. He's due for an important meeting."

"Mr. Zala is inside the room. Would you like me to call him out?"

"Oh, no, that won't be necessary. I'll just stand here and wait." She cocked her head, and then flashed him a small smile. "You're the Princess' bodyguard, aren't you?"

"Ye- yes. How did you know?" Ryo asked cautiously, feeling just a bit paranoid.

"Oh, I saw you at the party. Athrun pointed you out to me. I'm Meyrin Hawke." She extended a hand towards him, and Ryo shook it.

In that very instant, Ryo knew that Meyrin Hawke was special. He felt it when she placed her slim ivory fingers onto his palm, and he confirmed it when he looked into her eyes.

"Nice to meet you." Ryo said warmly, feeling like he meant it from the bottom of his heart. She smiled at him once more, and Ryo felt like smiling too. In fact, he was still grinning like a fool when the door swung open and Athrun emerged from the ward.

"Meyrin! Am I late already?" Athrun exclaimed upon seeing her. Ryo gave a small start and turned to look at Athrun warily.

"Not at all, you're right on time." Meyrin gazed at Athrun fondly, and the two of them walked off.

"Oh, goodbye Mr. Handel! It was nice meeting you!" Meyrin called, turning back abruptly as she reached the end of the hallway. She gave a little wave, and then followed Athrun out.

"Goodbye." Ryo said glumly, more to himself than her.

He felt as if someone had just stabbed him in the stomach and then left him there to bleed. Fine, so maybe that was a tad exaggerated, but he felt like someone had just socked him in the stomach at the very least. He clenched his fist, trying to control his emotions and to keep his face a blank mask. After all, he was a bodyguard, and he wasn't supposed to get attached or attracted to _anyone_.

_It's a lonely life you chose, Ryo, so stop torturing yourself already. You can't possibly have fallen in love with a girl you met barely 5 minutes ago. You're just deluding yourself. Get over it. I'm fine with this – I'm fine with everything._

Ryo sucked in his breath, plastering a (what he hoped to be) confident grin on his face. In his mind, he couldn't help but think of how lovingly Meyrin had looked at Athrun, as well as the immense feeling of sadness and disappointment that accompanied it.

* * *

"Gosh, Cagalli, I felt so guilty when I heard about what had happened! I should have noticed earlier that you were gone – but Kira and I were so wrapped up with managing the ball that it totally slipped our minds." Lacus said to Cagalli the next day when she came to visit (They had sent Ryo out yet again, much to Ryo's annoyance). Lacus' voice was filled with remorse, and she looked as if she were about to cry. 

"It's true, Cagalli, we really are very, very, very sorry." Kira continued, sounding as guilty as Lacus was. The couple looked up at Cagalli expectantly, as if waiting for some sort of reprimand or explosion.

"Erm… guys… it's OK." Cagalli said uncertainly, not knowing if they were being serious or not.

"Really?" Kira probed. "You don't blame us or anything?"

"N…o… Why would I? You weren't the ones who set the place on fire." Cagalli exclaimed incredulously.

Lacus laughed in relief, and then her face turned solemn. "It's just… oh Cagalli! You've been through so much and – and we've never been able to help you…"

"That's not true! It was you who rushed me to the hospital when I got poisoned, and Kira, don't you remember? You were the one who spotted the assassin who tried to knife me. The both of you have done the best that you could…" Cagalli reassured them.

Lacus smiled quietly. "You are a nice person, Cagalli. You're lucky to have Athrun there for you, and he's lucky to have you there for him."

Cagalli's reaction was immediate and somehow amusing. She made a sound somewhere between a cough and a strangled cry, and her face turned a startlingly bright red.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" She spluttered.

"Oh, come on Cagalli. He obviously still has feelings for you." Kira laughed.

"How would you know?"

"He's saved you twice already."

"So?"

"He stayed by your bedside last night while you were asleep."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And today, I heard that the Chief Inspector slammed him during a meeting regarding your attackers."

"What!"

"Apparently, Athrun wanted to look into the background of the guy who knifed you in greater detail. The Chief Inspector said he had done the basic background check, and he couldn't find any clues. Athrun, being Athrun, insisted on investigating further, and the Chief Inspector asked him who was in charge. Then, of course, they had a fine little quarrel, almost ending in a fist fight had it not been that the other policemen pulled them away from each other."

"Oh…" Cagalli breathed. "Good grief, Athrun…"

"The last I heard, the two men are still on hostile terms – with the Chief Inspector threatening to kick Athrun out of the investigation, and Athrun sticking to his stand that they had to delve further." Kira concluded.

Cagalli shook her head. "All this out of just _one_ meeting?"

"Yup." Lacus said almost happily, "Doesn't that show something Cagalli? Athrun's usually so calm and collected, but he's losing his temper over this affair."

"I don't see what that shows."

"It _shows_, my dear sister, that Athrun cares a lot for you." Kira said firmly.

"Maybe. Well I'm going to sleep now, if you don't mind. Would you help me tell Ryo that he can come back in?" Cagalli said abruptly. Without waiting for an answer, she turned over so that no one could see her, and then smiling silently into her pillow, she fell into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

"Chief Inspector Reyn-" Athrun called as he spotted Reyn in the process of eating his dinner in the cafeteria. The Chief Inspector groaned inwardly – it was only the 329th time Athrun had approached him that day. The day before, they had gotten into a little tussle, and the two men had ignored each other for the rest of the day. Reyn hadn't exactly liked it, but he much preferred it to the kind of treatment he was getting now. It seemed that Athrun Zala would not stop bothering him until he had given him what he wanted. 

Athrun ambushed him in the morning, wouldn't stop trying to speak to him during meetings, hunted him down in the hallways, and had been, generally, a holy terror. Reyn had shaken Athrun off half an hour ago, when he had managed to hide himself in the broom closet in time. Now, Reyn was just looking forward to a peaceful dinner – just him and his chicken potpie, like always – but right now, it seemed as though that was quite impossible.

Reyn glared into his meal as he heard the approaching footsteps, and as Athrun slid into the seat next to him, Reyn decided that it was no use getting angry. He mustered all the self-control that he had, and then forced a smile before turning to look at Athrun.

"Mr. Zala, we have been through this before. My team has previously conducted a check on the man. We couldn't find anything. I would be just wasting my team's time if I were to listen to you and ask my men to check again. Now, can we please change the subject? Contrary to popular belief, I do not actually enjoy being badgered by other men who think they can do my job better than I can." The Chief Inspector attempted to pick his tray up and walk away, but was soon stopped by Athrun's arm.

"I don't wish to offend you, Chief Inspector, but I believe that you have been looking in the wrong places." Athrun said firmly. "I have talked with your other men, and so far, all you've done is a basic background check. The basic background check, meaning information on his immediate family, criminal records, income, job – all those, Sir, in this context, are unimportant."

The Chief Inspector clenched his fist and stared at Athrun indignantly.

"And what, Zala, do you think is important?"

"Well, for one, the friends he had – or the people he hung out with. We have to find out if he knew or was vaguely related to anyone who was near the Princess." Athrun explained, almost in exasperation, "These attacks are obviously being carried out not just by one person, sir, we need to find some sort of connection."

"Connection with _what_? Even if you do find out that he was related to someone who knew the princess, that doesn't mean anything! We might be blaming someone innocent, drawing the wrong links, do you know the consequences of that, Mr. Zala?" Reyn replied in an equally exasperated tone.

"Yes, and I am fully aware that I may be on the wrong track, but as far as I can see, your team hasn't come up with any substantial results either."

A nerve twitched dangerously on the Chief Inspector's forehead. The atmosphere changed rapidly to that of tense silence, and for a while, both men did nothing but eye each other. Finally, Athrun dropped his gaze, gave a little cough, and then started speaking.

"I apologize for that comment, Sir, it was most rude of me. However, my wish to investigate further still stands. Therefore, this is what I am proposing to you. I will do all the research myself, but I would like to seek your permission to interview the prisoner as and when I wish to, as well as gain access to the police archives." Athrun said quietly.

"What makes you think I will agree?" Reyn hissed, very much offended by Athrun's words.

"Because otherwise, you wouldn't be doing all you can to help the Princess. You'll be being irresponsible, and if anything should happen to her, I'll make sure all the blame will fall on _you_." Athrun said coldly. The Chief Inspector looked up at him, partly in shock that such words should escape Athrun's lips – Athrun Zala was, after all, known to be a cool and reasonable man, to say such things and use emotional blackmail was most unlike him. Still, his words held some amount of sense, and Reyn's shoulders slumped in resignation.

"Ve…Very well. But I'm warning you, you are not authorized to take any action or present any findings before seeking my approval. Good day, Mr. Zala." With that, Chief Inspector Reyn stood up (a bit shakily) and walked away, leaving his unfinished food on the table.

Athrun smiled for the first time that day, feeling both exhilarated and ashamed at himself – but he had promised Cagalli that he would protect her. He had let her down once before, and once was enough.

* * *

_  
He had watched her face fall as he walked away that day, and the sunset was reflected in her tear-filled eyes. He was going back to ZAFT, and all of them had questioned his decision. It was betrayal to them: he had chosen to fight against them, to join the enemy. _

_She, of all people, had believed that he loved her more than his principles, and it showed plainly on her forlorn face when he refused to go back with them. She stood rooted to the ground, stunned and hurt. _

_There and then, he wanted to run back and tell her that he had changed his mind, and that he would rather die than to be separated from her. But he couldn't – pride and stubborn belief in ideals were in the way. _

_And though none of them had spoken about it, he knew that there was a resounding question in both of their minds:_

_**Are we really too different?**_

_**

* * *

**A/N:_

_**Kageharu Kaco: **Muahaha! I added a line in there somewhere to explain Lacus and Kira's absence, but as for Meyrin, I don't really think that she would :S erm… be familiar with Cagalli or look out for her. Haha. (I am such a cheater, I know. -gets splattered by tomatoes-)_

_**Cari-Akira**: Heh… I actually meant… went to the toilet to soak the sheets using water from the sink oO; oops… haha... maybe it's rather ambiguous in the story, but, just to clarify! _

_SORRY FOR THE SUPER LATE UPDATE. I seem to be losing my inspiration for the story somehow. Maybe it's the effect of watching too many cartoons… Ahahah -laughs nervously- But anyhow, hope you'll enjoy this chapter!_


	8. Love, unrequited

**Part 8**

Previously-

_There and then, he wanted to run back and tell her that he had changed his mind, and that he would rather die than to be separated from her. But he couldn't – pride and a stubborn belief in ideals were in the way. _

_And though none of them had spoken about it, he knew that there was a resounding question in both of their minds:_

_**Are we really too different?**_

_**

* * *

**_Ryo had been anticipating that she would be there at the annual Orb-ZAFT meeting, and he was right. She was standing there by herself, wineglass in hand, staring vacantly into space.

_Alright, Ryo, you can do this. You've fought against enemies twice as big as yourself; you can handle talking to a girl._

He took in a deep breath, and then approached Meyrin Hawke with sweaty palms and an unnaturally wide smile.

"He-HELLO, YOU'RE MISS HAWKE, AREN'T YOU?" He managed to blurt out as he reached her side. Meyrin nearly dropped her glass as she gave a start, looking up at him with some amount of shock. After blinking once or twice, her lips settled into a soft smile.

"Oh, hello! Mr. Handel, isn't it? How nice to see you here again!"

"Call me Ryo, please."

"Call me Meyrin then." She said grinning, "How come you aren't with Cagalli?"

"They chased me away to 'get a drink for myself'. Apparently discussing something that's classified. Mr. Yamato there says he'll be taking over the job of safeguarding the princess' life until they're done." Ryo gestured to a corner of the room where Cagalli was in a heated discussion with a balding man. Kisaka and Kira were standing behind her, and were eyeing each other nervously, as if anticipating Cagalli to lose her temper.

Meyrin laughed lightly, "They look like they're having fun."

"Yeah… hey, I didn't see Mr. Zala today."

"He… said he was too busy to attend this meeting, so he sent me instead…" The vacant look was back on her face, and a haunting emptiness entered her eyes as her voice trailed off. Slowly, her eyebrows knitted themselves into a frown and she bit her lip silently. She seemed to have forgotten that Ryo was standing right in front of her, and only remembered when he gave a small cough.

"Are you alright?" Ryo asked, concerned.

"Oh, oh I'm sorry! I don't know what's come over me lately. It's just…"

"Would you like to share it with me?"

"Oh, no, it's ok." Meyrin forced a smile, "Nah, it's nothing. Really."

"Is it… Zala?"

Meyrin gave a sharp intake of breath as he said the words, and Ryo knew that he had hit the nail. However, Meyrin shook her head abruptly.

"No, no… why would it be about him?" She asked, her tone a little too sharp for her own liking. She cringed at the sound of it, knowing how defensive she sounded.

"It is, isn't it?" Ryo probed, one eyebrow raised.

For a while, it looked as if Meyrin was going to tell him what her troubles were. A few times, she looked up and hesitated, as if contemplating whether it would be safe to confide in him. Then all of a sudden a cool calmness settled on her face, and she stared at him directly in the eye.

"I apologize for sounding so rude, but it really isn't any of your business." She said tonelessly. "I will be leaving now, goodbye, Mr. Handel."

Swirling around, she walked out of the door, with nothing in her posture or stance to reveal any emotion whatsoever.

Ryo, however, was a perfect picture of defeat and misery as he silently watched her leave.

* * *

Athrun's fingers moved rapidly over the keyboard, his eyes scanning the text flashing on the computer screen.

The Orb Police Force's information archives – rows upon rows of information stored on drives, to be plugged in to the only computer in the room. There had to be at least a million drives, each one detailing the lives of about 100 people, the lives of criminals, suspects, victims – anyone at all who had the slightest connection with the law.

Athrun had spent the entire day searching for relevant files, and then making notes manually in his notebook. That way, he could bring the information he needed wherever he wanted. (Aside from that, all devices that allowed for information to be digitally stored were forbidden within the room.)

Athrun opened yet another file and starting reading eagerly, after a while he gave a sigh of disappointment and closed it. _Same old, same old._

By now, Athrun was an expert on Cagalli's attacker, and could probably give a detailed biography of his life. He was a twenty-five-year-old male known as Gerald Anars. 1.75m, 70kg, and had purplish hair and dark brown eyes. His parents died when he was eighteen in a car crash, and he lived alone since he did not have any siblings nor surviving relatives, it seemed. He was an Orb citizen by birth, attended various prestigious institutions throughout his life, graduated with honours from Orb University in some vague science, and then went on to attempt to knife the Princess.

It didn't make sense. None of it made sense. What could he possibly have against Cagalli?

_Don't think about the motive yet, Zala, think about the people and his connections. Once you find the people involved, you'll be able to link a pattern to lead you to the motive._

He opened file after file, scanning the chunks of text furiously.

After a while, he began to think that maybe Reyn was right and it was hopeless. He was just about to close a particularly large file when something caught his eye.

Athrun Zala reread the paragraph in front of him, and then sat up straight, a glint in his eye.

Things were definitely going to get interesting.

* * *

The stomach pains started that afternoon. At first Ryo had thought it was merely gastritis, but they had suddenly worsened, gashing his gut like a knife cutting in deeply. His skin managed to transform itself into an unhealthy shade of green, and trickles of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. What was happening to him? Why did he feel this way? 

He heard Cagalli give a whimper, and as he looked towards her, his heart sank. She wasn't looking too good either. Her skin was about as green as his, and her hands clutched at the blanket till her knuckles were white. Tossing and turning in the bed, she was shivering wildly.

_This is another attempt, _he realized, _there must have been something wrong with the breakfast. _

Steadying himself, he walked over to the intercom, pressed the button and blurted out, "Help, the Princess is critically ill" before collapsing on the floor.

* * *

"The princess will be just fine, she didn't consume much of the poison… but her bodyguard, I'm afraid, is in worse shape." The doctor said gravely to Kira and Lacus. 

"Will he be OK?" Lacus asked concernedly.

"It all depends on him, I'm afraid. It's good that he called the nurse when he did, if he delayed any sooner he would have been a gone case, and the princess might not have such a stable condition now."

"Oh. Oh dear."

"If you don't mind me asking, doctor, how did they… consume the poison?" Kira asked, looking worriedly at his sister. "The chief-inspector made her meals practically tamper proof – they were analyzed for any toxins before taken in, how in the world could-"

"Well, according the police, it was in the bodyguard's omelette."

"What?"

"They found traces of poison in the cheese omelette that the Princess' bodyguard had for breakfast. Apparently, the Princess ate a bit of it as well."

"Ah. Ah. I see." Kira said grimly – no one had warned Cagalli not to eat anything else, she would have protested anyway. "They were probably trying to attempt another assassination after getting Mr. Handel out of the way."

"That's what the Inspector thinks. They… found a dagger hidden in the hospital gardens." The doctor shrugged. "Anyway, I heard he's upped the security. There are now 20 guards standing outside this room. It's like some impregnable fortress, there's no way the Princess will come into any danger this way."

If only he knew how wrong his statement was…

* * *

When Athrun Zala arrived at the hospital that evening with Meyrin, he was completely shocked at the turn of events. He, Meyrin, Kira and Lacus were sitting around in Cagalli's ward, and Athrun felt his blood run cold when he caught sight of the pale figure on the bed, but something else was troubling him as well… 

"So they attacked Mr. Handel?" Athrun asked in disbelief.

"Yes. That's only the twenty-third time you've asked Athrun." Kira said, a little irritation creeping into his voice.

"I'm sorry." Athrun replied, then he furrowed his brows and fell silent.

"Is…everything alright, Athrun?" Lacus asked in concern.

Athrun nodded. "Everything's fine. I just thought I found a lead. I guess this throws my theory off." Gritting his teeth, he leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes tightly. In his mind, he went through the information that he had already memorized, trying over and over again to form some sort of link and explanation.

"Don't feel discouraged Athrun, you've only just started on it." Meyrin's voice interjected his thoughts. Athrun felt slightly annoyed.

"Mm." He replied shortly.

"I'm sure Cagalli would be very touched to see that you're working so hard on her case."

"Mm."

"Athrun?"

"Mm."

"Athrun, maybe you should take a break, I mean, you've been working awfully hard lately and this might be a good time for you to rest-"

"Are you crazy?"

Athrun's voice was icily cold, and his eyes were dilated with fury.

"Take a break? With Cagalli's life in danger?" He clenched his fists. "Meyrin, I am sorry to say, but that has got to be the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard in my life."

Kira and Lacus were momentarily stunned, and merely gaped at Athrun. Meyrin's eyes filled with hurt tears, and after muttering an apology, she slipped away to Ryo Handel's adjoining room.

* * *

_A/N: SORRY FOR THE SUPERSUPERSUPER LATE UPDATE. Haha. I promise the next chapter will come… SHORTLY alright? _


	9. A little talk

**Part 9**

Previously-

"_Athrun, maybe you should take a break, I mean, you've been working awfully hard lately and this might be a good time for you to rest-"_

"_Are you crazy?"_

_Athrun's voice was icily cold, and his eyes were dilated with fury._

"_Take a break? With Cagalli's life in danger?" He clenched his fists. "Meyrin, I am sorry to say, but that has got to be the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard in my life." _

_Kira and Lacus were momentarily stunned, and merely gaped at Athrun. Meyrin's eyes filled with hurt tears, and after muttering an apology, she slipped away to Ryo Handel's adjoining room._

_

* * *

_  
"Athrun, are you _sure_ you're alright?" Lacus asked gently. "It isn't like you to blow up like that."

_It seems like I've been doing a lot of things that "isn't like me", _Athrun thought dryly. He closed his eyes and took in a few deep breaths, trying to relax. When he finally opened his eyes, he smiled at both Kira and Lacus. He was about to reassure the both of them when he heard something stir from the bed.

"Cagalli?" He leapt to the bedside, taking her hand.

"Athrun?" Cagalli's voice was soft and tired, and she smiled lightly when she saw him.

Kira was about to approach his sister when Lacus gently tugged at his sleeve, motioning towards the door.

"C'mon Kira, I'm sure they'll be fine without us." Lacus grinned as Kira reluctantly nodded.

The two walked out, leaving Cagalli and Athrun alone in their own world.

* * *

Ryo woke up to the distantly familiar sound of soft sobbing, and for a moment, he thought that he was returned to his childhood again. But that didn't make sense, because back then when he heard such sounds, it was _he himself_ who did all the sobbing. 

His eyes widened when he saw that the soft shaking figure who had curled up on a chair had ruby red hair.

"Mey…Meyrin?" He questioned cautiously.

Meyrin gave a soft gasp and immediately raised her hands to wipe away the tearstains on her cheek.

"Ryo! I'm… really sorry, I didn't think that you would be awake. Am I disturbing you?"

"No, not really."

"Ho… How are you feeling? They said that your situation wasn't too good."

"Oh, I'm doing just fine." Ryo attempted to smile and then winced as a sharp pain grabbed his stomach.

"You shouldn't pretend you are if you aren't, you know." Meyrin teased.

Biting his lip, Ryo didn't answer to her comment.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Meyrin asked in confusion, "You're not in that much pain, are you?"

Ryo hesitated, and then looked up to meet her eyes.

"Meyrin, about the other day… I'm really sorry. I wasn't trying to snoop, I just wanted to help." He said earnestly, nervously watching Meyrin's face for some sort of reaction. To his horror, Meyrin looked as if she was going to start crying again.

"Erm. Did I say something wrong!"

"No… It's ok, Ryo, I wasn't really offended. I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I got angry at you." Meyrin smiled sadly, "It's nothing really – it's just that, well, sometimes when you really like someone – it gets hard when you know they don't exactly reciprocate your feelings."

Ryo chuckled mirthlessly. "So it is about Mr. Zala." He muttered under his breath.

"Sorry?"

"Oh. Nothing. So. Would you care to talk?"

Meyrin dragged her chair over to his side. "What about?"

"Anything under the sun will do fine." He said cheerfully.

"Well- OH! Oh, yes, you'd probably want to know how Cagalli is doing, right?"

Ryo blinked a few times, as if dazed, and then his eyes widened with urgency.

"How is she?" He asked anxiously. Mentally, he slapped himself – how could he? He had forgotten his priorities upon seeing Meyrin.

"The doctor says she's fine, thankfully." Meyrin said happily, but there was something in her tone that wasn't quite right – there was oddly, a trace of shame and regret. Ryo couldn't place it at all. He was about to ask Meyrin if anything else was wrong, but just then she plastered a dazzling smile on her face, and for a while, Ryo was mesmerized.

* * *

Kisaka's private line started ringing right after he had finished his dinner. He picked up the phone, silencing the annoyingly sharp shrill sounds. Telephones. His least favourite piece of techonlogy.

"This is Kisaka speaking."

"Kisaka? Is that you?"

"...Athrun?" Kisaka raised an eyebrow, "Is the princess alright? You aren't calling me to tell me that she's taken for the worse have you?"

"No, no! Cagalli is_ fine._ I just needed to ask you if - erm - er- well, listen, would it be okay to meet you tomorrow? I have... er... a matter to discuss with you."

Athrun's tone betrayed the slightest hint that the "matter" was probably one of utmost secrecy. "Of course, you could come over for lunch at 1 if you like."

"I would rather you come over to my place, if you don't mind, that is."

"Not a problem."

"Alright. See you at 1 tomorrow then."

* * *

"I hate to tell you this, but I think that Athrun Zala is on to us." The man said to his friend nervously, after they had just heard (eavesdropped, rather) the phone conversation between the blue-haired Coordinator and the princess' advisor.

"I already know that." The second man said smirking, "But luckily, he hasn't caught up with the new plan yet."

"It'll be a matter of time-"

"Confidence, my boy, have faith. I will see to it that Athrun Zala will be eliminated if he makes anymore trouble for us."

* * *

The doorbell buzzer sounded, and Athrun eyed the door curiously. Who could it possibly at this time of the night? ZAFT? No, they'd call. Meyrin? Highly unlikely – even though she lived near him, she would never visit him this late at night unless it was urgent.

He got up from the table where he was going through some overdue paperwork for ZAFT, and as he swung open the door, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Kira? Not to sound rude but, what are you doing here at this time of the night?"

"I… had to talk to you about something. I'm sorry for not calling before coming, but I didn't actually have my mind totally made up as to whether or not I should." Kira said as he walked into Athrun's apartment, an unusually serious and somber look on his face.

"Well, alright then. Come in." Athrun said, closing the door behind Kira. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"Nah, it's ok." Kira settled himself on the couch while Athrun took the seat opposite. Kira started fidgeting and twiddling his thumbs, until Athrun finally cleared his throat and stared pointedly at him.

"So, Kira, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Athrun asked, feeling a bit amused at his friend's peculiar behaviour.

"Erm… you see…"

"Yes?" Athrun said encouragingly.

"The thing is, Athrun, you know that I usually try not to interfere with your personal life."

"Ah. I should have guessed. You want to talk about Cagalli?"

"Mostly, yes. I want to ask you a question, Athrun. What are you going to do after the matter with the assassination has been resolved?"

As Kira stared at him intently, Athrun realized that he was clueless. What _was_ he going to do? Return to PLANTs? Remain in Orb?

"I… haven't thought about that before." Athrun said honestly. "Is my answer really important to you?"

Kira nodded briefly. "Lacus told me you were just offered a position in the Supreme Council."

"Wow. News spreads fast."

"Yes. It does. And she also says that you have yet to reply whether or not you accept the post." Kira looked up hastily, "Not that I'm blaming you or anything, I mean, I don't expect you to stay in Orb. After all, you were only transferred here temporarily because you were helping out with sorting the relations between PLANTs and Orb, but you can't stay here forever Athrun, and if you accept that post you can't stay here at all."

"I know." Athrun said silently, "I know."

_If only I could sacrifice things as well as Lacus can. She was offered the position of Chairlady a few times, but she kept rejecting it because she would rather have Kira and Cagalli. _Athrun thought miserably, _I guess that makes me selfish, huh? During the war, I couldn't give up my pride and principles for love – and now, I can't make up my mind at all. You'd think that I would have learnt from past mistakes._

Kira's sigh jolted him out of his thoughts. Athrun looked up at him expectantly, and Kira's next words made him feel even worse than ever.

"Athrun, whatever your decision is, I will respect it. But please, don't hurt Cagalli again."

"I understand."

"No… No, Athrun, you **don't **understand!" Kira burst out uncontrollably. "Athrun, you weren't there when Cagalli was at her lowest point. It was a nightmare, for her and for all those around her. Cagalli might seem strong, but you of all people should know that the people she loves are the ones who could hurt her so easily.

"When you left, you killed a part of her. At first I thought it was the stress from the war, but then the war passed, and still Cagalli lived like a ghost. She's been putting on a front for the past year, biting her knuckles to muffle the weeping she's been doing at night. When we questioned her about it, she claimed that she scratched herself – and subsequently, she started wearing gloves whenever she did it, trying to fool us into believing that she was OK.

"And you know what was the worst part, Athrun? It was that we just had to play along with her little ruses because we knew that if we tried to intervene it would just make it worse. We were afraid that we probed too much she would shut us out completely. We had to sit there, always watching out for her feeling anxious and worried, scared that she would do something silly and take her own life. But she never did, probably because she didn't want to hurt us.

"When the attacks came, I could almost swear that she felt relieved for them. It was as if they were some work of fate, some warped sort of escape for her. To some extent, I think she even _welcomed_ them. That assassin we caught? Both Cagalli and I found him suspicious, but she refused to voice her concerns until I kept insisting that she did. She didn't let Reyn raise the security measures despite his constant nagging. Only- only until you came…"

Kira's furious tirade ebbed into silence, and Athrun felt a lump rise to his throat as he looked down guiltily.

_Cagalli? No… How could she possibly have wanted to die?_ Athrun thought, and suddenly, she stood before him in his mind, young and full of spirit and fire –

"_Don't run!" She had cried out to him anxiously, and as both of them stood there suspended in space, he realized that she had started to cry._

"_To live is to fight!"_

_And her words had changed his mind instantly, filling him with hope at such a time of despair and desolation. From then on, whenever he wanted to give up, or felt discouraged at the daunting tasks he had, he would think of Cagalli and her words. Her words were to be his courage and light, and she had changed him more than she thought she ever had. _


	10. Trust

**Part 10**

Previously-

"_Don't run!" She had cried out to him anxiously, and as both of them stood there suspended in space, he realized that she had started to cry._

"_To live is to fight!"_

_And her words had changed his mind instantly, filling him with hope at such a time of despair and desolation. From then on, whenever he wanted to give up, or felt discouraged at the daunting tasks he had, he would think of Cagalli and her words. Her words were to be his courage and light, and she had changed him more than she thought she ever had._

_

* * *

_  
"Athrun? _Athrun?_"

Athrun gave a small start as Kira's voice jolted him from his thoughts.

"Athrun? Look… I'm sorry for the outburst. I just… I know it wasn't entirely your fault. Cagalli's decision to marry Jona probably put a strain on your relationship with her and… and maybe some of her decisions weren't things that you could agree with – but… I guess what I'm trying to say is, she loves you a lot. She's never stopped loving you, Athrun."

Kira stood up, and then smiled sadly at Athrun.

"Look. Whatever your decision is, I'll respect it. I'm just… pleading with you not to give Cagalli false hope, and if you want to leave, please… do it so Cagalli is as hurt as little as possible. I… I guess I'll be going home now."

"I'll walk you to your car."

"There's no need to-"

"I insist. I…I need to take a walk to think about… things…"

* * *

He licked his lips nervously as he answered the phone, half-fearing what he would hear on the other end. 

"Hello?"

"Hello, I expect things are running according to plan?"

"Yes."

"Everything's set for tomorrow?"

"About that – do you really think it's necessary?"

"Of course it is."

"But…"

"You're not thinking of backing out are you?"

"Well, technically, I never really approved of your plans."

"No, but you never disapproved of them either, and you never stopped me from carrying them out. You are a part of this now. Remember that."

The line went dead, and as the man placed the phone back on its cradle, he felt a sinking sense of doom deep in his gut.

* * *

The night air was cool against his skin, and Athrun sighed as he thought about his plans. 

_When I got that letter for the promotion, I was so elated that I wanted to rush back to PLANTs at once. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I thought about Cagalli, till I realized that there was no way I could leave Orb… at least… not now…_

_But what about later, Athrun? What about when this is all over?_

Athrun remembered what it used to be like in the past, before all the politics came in, before _Jona_ came into the picture. When Cagalli was his world…

He had given up his identity to be with her, calling himself "Alex Dino" and demoting himself to her bodyguard when he could have returned to ZAFT. He had been by her side every single day, and he had always been happy just to be near her.

Meyrin's question came floating back to him, and he heard it as clearly as he did on the night of his birthday, when he had decided to visit Cagalli.

"_You still love her, don't you Athrun?" _

And suddenly, he felt like crying, because his answer had remained exactly the same.

_I don't know._

_

* * *

_Kira gave a small cough, and Athrun looked up at him, as if only just discovering that Kira had been walking next to him for the past 5 minutes.

"Well, here's my car and… I suppose I ought to get going. Get a good night's sleep, Athrun. I'm really sorry for inconveniencing you today." Kira said as he flashed Athrun a slightly apologetic smile.

"No problem. Thanks, Kira. You get yourself some sleep too."

As Kira opened his car door, he hesitated, and then turned back to look at Athrun.

"Athrun, do you remember the girl I was with during the first war? Fllay?"

"Uh… I… vaguely remember her, yes." Athrun replied, feeling puzzled at his sudden question.

"When she was… alive, I made a promise to protect her. She… She made me feel as if her safety was the most important thing in the world. Because of her, I became a different person… I think I would have done anything to save her, I would have killed anyone who threatened her safety…"

"Erm… _Yes_, I do recall that." Athrun raised his eyebrow, still not understanding why Kira was giving him a recount of his relationship with Fllay.

"Look. I'm just saying… I know you want to protect Cagalli, and I'm thankful for that, but don't do it at the expense of losing everyone around you, including yourself."

Athrun was quiet for a while, and then an amused smile played at his lips.

"Did Lacus ask you to say that?"

Kira blushed, "Well, she did mention that she was upset at the way you treated Meyrin."

"Uh-huh." Athrun grinned, and then his face turned serious. "Don't worry, Kira, I'll keep that in mind. I don't want to lose my close friends either."

Kira looked relieved, and his lips relaxed into a smile. He got into his car, bade Athrun farewell, and then sped off into the night.

Athrun remained there standing for a long time, staring into the empty darkness with a heavy heart.

* * *

The next morning, Athrun made his way to the hospital. After flashing his identity card at the numerous guards outside her ward, as well as having his thumb scanned and subjected to a mini interrogation about his life to make sure that he wasn't an imposter, Athrun finally made it unscathed into Cagalli's ward. 

The princess was still sleeping when he had arrived, and he smiled gently as he looked at the way she drooled in her sleep. Then, feeling a bit self-conscious for the goofy smile playing on his face, Athrun closed his eyes and thought about the conversation he had had with Kira the night before.

To him, Cagalli had always been a strong and sensible girl. The idea that she might have been that depressed was slightly unnerving to him, and what made it worse was that it was _he_ of all people who had caused her so much misery.

And yet, he did want to be part of the Supreme Council.

_I know it's often been said that "You can't have your cake and eat it", _he thought miserably, _but I never knew that giving something up would be this difficult._

Athrun heard a yawn, and his eyes flew open. He turned towards Cagalli, and saw that she was awake at last.

"Hey, sleepyhead." He said grinning. Cagalli stuck out her tongue at him good-naturedly.

"Good morning to _you_. What are you doing here so early?"

"I have a date later…"

"Oh." Cagalli's smile drooped a little, and then it immediately widened to the point where it looked immensely fake. "With who?" She asked, her voice sounding a bit strained.

"…With Kisaka. I'm meeting him for lunch to discuss the case." Athrun finished teasingly. Cagalli rolled her eyes and threw her pillow at him. Athrun caught it with ease and placed it gently at the foot of her bed.

"I see you're looking strong. When are you being discharged?"

"I'll be out tomorrow afternoon, and so will Ryo."

"Alright. I'll come and escort you back home then."

"Really? How nice of you." Cagalli laughed.

There was a short pause, and then-

"Cagalli-" Athrun started, just as Cagalli called out his name.

"You go first." Cagalli immediately said.

"No, you go." Athrun insisted.

"Well… er… I just wanted to thank you." Cagalli said, blushing, "Thank you for…everything you've done for me."

"Oh. There's no need to thank me, that's what… friends are for right?"

"Don't be silly, you've done so much more and I-" Cagalli stopped abruptly, her face getting redder and redder by the second. Finally, she looked down and twiddled her fingers. "So… what did you want to tell me?"

"I…erm… forgot. Oh, er, look at the time! I'm going to be late!" Athrun said stumblingly as he ran out of the room. Cagalli blinked twice, and then scratched her head, puzzled by Athrun's sudden departure.

_Hm… I wonder what he wanted to say to me…_ She thought as she stared at the empty spot where Athrun was standing.

* * *

Athrun gritted his teeth in frustration as he drove home. Why couldn't he just tell Cagalli that he had been offered the promotion? 

_Stupid… stupid… stupid… It's not as if I'm doing anything wrong… Why do I feel this guilty?_

He had been fully planning on telling Cagalli, but when he had finally managed to get the chance, he found that he couldn't do it.

_Athrun, you **coward. **Cagalli wouldn't blame you, and besides, you haven't even decided whether or not you want to accept the post. There's no reason why you should be afraid to tell her, or why you should feel guilty – right?_

Athrun sighed. Somehow, he had never managed to master the art of self-delusion.

* * *

"So, Athrun, what was it you wanted to see me about?" Kisaka asked when the two men had finished lunch. They were currently in Athrun's study, where Athrun had drawn the shades and checked the room for any unwanted electronic devices or bugs before closing the door behind them and locking it (with Kisaka slightly amused at how it reminded him of the security outside Cagalli's ward). 

"You know I've been working on Cagalli's case… And I've managed to trace some patterns." Athrun reached to his shelf and pulled out a file of substantial thickness, and then slid it over the table to Kisaka.

Kisaka's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he flipped through the file, and Athrun nodded, as if expecting such a reaction.

"Where did you get this?" Kisaka finally asked.

"Classified archives. It was in some obscure file, so I'm not really surprised that no one's found it yet."

"This might complicate matters… but are you sure the link that you're drawing is accurate?"

"I'm almost sure."

"But-"

"I know. I know. That's why I'm only almost sure." Athrun breathed deeply, "That's why I'm going to need your help."

Kisaka leaned forward.

"I'm all ears."

* * *

"Have you managed to find anything yet?" A voice asked in an icy tone. The man cringed involuntarily as he pressed the phone to his ear. 

"Erm… I'm afraid not…" He replied timidly.

"Why not?"

"Athrun Zala made every precaution to make sure that whatever he was saying could not be heard. I couldn't even read his lips."

"I'm sure there are other ways of finding out information."

"I-"

"And I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out."

"…I will not have you talking to me that way."

There was a tense silence, and finally, the voice gave in.

"I apologize. That was most impolite of me. I'm just… rather stressed out over this whole affair. You won't let me down, will you? You're the only one I really trust."

"I… I know. I'll do what I can."

The man put down the phone, and in his mind appeared the starting traces of a plan.

* * *

_A/N:_

_School is depriving me of sleep ): -screams as eyebags start appearing-_

_Anyway. I hope you all liked this chapter X) Thanks for reviewing! _


	11. Misunderstandings and Mistakes

**Part 11**

Previously-

"_I apologize. That was most impolite of me. I'm just… rather stressed out over this whole affair."_

"_I… I know. I'll do what I can."_

_The man put down the phone, and in his mind appeared the starting traces of a plan._

_

* * *

_Athrun looked at the clock on the dining room wall. It was 11 in the morning. There was just enough time to make a call before going down to the hospital to escort Cagalli – a call that he knew he had to make – but had been putting off - since he had that talk with Kira.

Was he really losing himself?

He hadn't been thinking at all when he said those things to Meyrin. He had been so worried for Cagalli, so aggravated over all the dead ends he had run into, that when Meyrin made the comment, it was like the final straw that broke the camel's back. He had been suppressing so much frustration inside him that when someone said something that irritated him in the littlest way, he just blew up.

Since that incident, Meyrin hadn't spoken to him at all, and he hadn't tried to talk to her either. He had been so obsessed with the case that he had forgotten about others around him who genuinely cared about him – like Meyrin.

_I guess I owe her an apology. I… I really don't want to lose her friendship._ Athrun realized, _She's done so much for me…_

He remembered how she had hid him from the ZAFT soldiers, how she had escaped with him, and how she had always been there for him. She had risked ruining her relationship with Lunamaria for him, and she had never blamed him for anything that happened, no matter how dire the situation was, despite the fact that it was he who had dragged her into the entire situation...

Sighing, Athrun picked up the phone and prepared to dial her number, then after a short while, he placed the phone back on the cradle. Calling her was ridiculous, he decided, after all, she only lived a few doors down. Resolutely, Athrun left his home and walked towards Meyrin's apartment.

* * *

The throbbing in her head was getting worse, and Meyrin Hawke couldn't stop sneezing. She had finished 3 boxes of tissue, and was opening her 4th box when the doorbell buzzed. Dragging herself from the couch, she managed to stumble toward the door. Pressing the button on the intercom, she nearly jumped when she saw none other than Athrun Zala on her screen. 

"Ath… Athrun?" She said uncertainly.

"Erm. Yup. Hello there, Meyrin. I was… wondering if you could let me in, if it's not too inconvenient for you, that is."

"Su-Sure."

The door swung open to reveal a very guilty looking Athrun on her doorstep. However, his face swiftly changed into a look of worry and concern when he saw her.

"Meyrin, are you ok?"

"No problem. It's just a bit of the flu. Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? You look… really sick. If you were a Natural I'm willing to wager that you'd be hospitalized by now."

"I'm fine, Athrun, really." Meyrin said, trying to sound reassuring. Just then, she felt a sudden spell of dizziness washed over her body, and before she knew it, a blank darkness overwhelmed her and she was on the ground.

* * *

"Alright, your bags are in the car and the guards are waiting outside. Ryo's ready, I'm ready, and by right we should have left this place half an hour ago. Are you ready to leave, Your Highness, or have you developed such strong feelings for your ward that you no longer wish to return home?" Kisaka asked wryly. Ryo fought hard to stop himself from grinning, but couldn't help but let an amused smile slip across his face. 

Cagalli rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course Kisaka. I _love_ hospital wards, didn't you know?" She crossed her arms over her chest and started pacing the room, brows furrowed as she bit her lower lip. Where was Athrun? He said that he would be here to escort her home, but it was already half an hour past the allotted time and he still hadn't shown up.

_Maybe he's in trouble… _Cagalli thought anxiously._ Maybe that's why he isn't here; after all, it's not like Athrun to not show up…_

As if reading her mind, Kisaka sighed. "I'll call Athrun now, alright?"

"That's not – I mean – Well, erm, go ahead. I mean, why should you tell me that?"

"Because you want to know, don't you?" Kisaka replied as he smiled knowingly. He took out his phone and called Athrun, and after a while, he hung up. There was a peculiar look on his face as he turned to face Cagalli and Ryo.

"Athrun's busy with something. He's fine, don't worry." Snapping his phone shut, Kisaka walked out of the room. "Now if you don't mind Princess, we really should get back to the palace now, there's a whole lot of work that's piled up and you're needed at an important meeting this evening."

Cagalli stared at Kisaka's quickly retreating figure and felt confused once more. First Athrun, and now Kisaka – something was definitely up.

"Your Highness?" Ryo asked gently, snapping Cagalli out of her reverie.

"Oh. Oh, of course." Cagalli replied as she walked out of her ward. At the moment she stepped out with Ryo at her side, a whole swarm of guards surrounded her, but Cagalli was too perturbed to notice anything.

_They're hiding things from me, I don't know what, or why – but I'm going to get to the bottom of everything._

_­­­­­_

_

* * *

_  
Meyrin lay on her bed with a compress over her head. She had never been sicker in her life. There was a persistent banging in her head, as if someone were crashing a hammer into her skull over and over again. She was now on her 10th box of tissues, and her nose would have put Rudolph the reindeer's to shame.

Despite all of that, however, Meyrin had never been happier either.

After she had momentarily blanked out, Athrun had carried her to her bed. When she awoke, he berated her for not telling him about her sickness earlier, and then sat at her bedside for hours, effectively spending his free day sponging her forehead and taking care of her. It was almost too good to be true that she couldn't stop turning to look at him and to convince herself that this wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her. But as she felt the damp cloth being gently pressed against her forehead, she was sure that this was real.

He was now in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Meyrin smiled contentedly to herself as she stretched and gave a little sigh. Though she knew it was horribly silly of her to feel so irrationally happy, but still…

A strange ringing sounded, and Meyrin sat up straight. She wondered where it came from, and then she spotted Athrun's phone on her bedside table where he had left it after taking a call earlier in the afternoon. She stared at the flashing and wondered if she should take the call. After a while, it stopped. There was a short lapse in time, and then it started again.

After the mysterious caller had made the call 5 times, Meyrin decided that whoever it was probably needed to speak to Athrun urgently. Meyrin peered at the screen, and the words "PRIVATE LINE" flashed back at her. She picked up the phone cautiously, and then put it to her ear.

"Athrun? Are you all right? Is there something that you're not telling me? I have to know-"

"Ca-Cagalli?" Meyrin asked, recognizing her voice.

"Mey-rin? Oh, yes, this is Cagalli. I'm very sorry. I was looking for Athrun. Is he in a meeting?"

"Erm. No, he's preparing dinner."

"Dinner?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Erm. I see. You're at his place?"

"Well, no. He's at my place."

"Oh… um… That's early." Cagalli said, obviously puzzled, "I thought Athrun was busy with work today."

"Erm… Actually, he's been at my house the whole day."

In the next few seconds, the silence that ensued was enough to hear a pin drop. Cagalli gave a sharp intake of breath, and the hand that was holding on to the phone suddenly went rigid.

"Cagalli? Cagalli? Are you there?" Meyrin's worried voice sounded over the phone. "Erm, I realize that what I just said might have sounded a bit suggestive, what I meant was-"

"No, no, it's fine. You don't have to explain." Cagalli said, trying to keep her voice from cracking. She breathed in deeply, and then tried to make her voice sound happy.

"Enjoy your dinner then. Goodbye." Cagalli hung up before a harsh sob escaped from her throat, leaving Meyrin with a sinking feeling that she had definitely said something wrong.

* * *

Clenching her fists, Cagalli desperately tried to control the tears that were threatening to fall. After all, Ryo was in the room with her, and it was most degrading for someone of her stature to be reduced to a pathetic pile of tears by such a trivial matter. 

_But it isn't trivial! _Her heart argued, _How can if be trivial if it hurts you so much?_

"Your Highness?" Ryo started uncertainly, "Is anything the matter? You seem to be… In some sort of agony."

"I… Oh… It's nothing at all." Cagalli replied, flashing Ryo a rather contrived grin.

"If there's anything I can do-"

"No, it's all right, Ryo. Really. Just – could you leave the room for a while, please?"

Seconds after Ryo closed the door behind him, Cagalli crumpled to the ground, hands over her mouth as she tried to stop herself from weeping her heart out.

* * *

Just five minutes after the fateful call, Athrun reappeared in Meyrin's room with a steaming bowl of chicken broth. Meyrin sat immobile, twiddling with her thumbs and fidgeting nervously. 

"Erm… Meyrin?" Athrun asked confusedly as he set the soup down on the table.

"Cagalli called while you were making dinner. I told her you were at my house the whole day and she seemed rather upset." Meyrin replied, her expression similar to that of a child who was about to get reprimanded. "I'm sorry, I… must have said the wrong thing."

To her surprise, Athrun smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'll sort it out with Cagalli." He started to walk out, "I'm going down to get the stew alright?"

"Athrun!" Meyrin blurted out before she could stop herself. He turned around to face her, a questioning look on his face.

"Aren't you… Aren't you mad at me? I mean, I'm really sorry for making you angry the other day and now –"

"No, you shouldn't be sorry." Athrun cut in, "I'm the one who should be apologizing." He walked to her side and bent down so that their eyes were level.

"Meyrin, I know you were just concerned for me. I shouldn't have blown up at you like that. The truth is that I was so stressed over Cagalli that I just lost control… I… I hope you'll forgive me and forget that it ever happened, all right?" Athrun smiled sincerely, took her hands in his, and continued.

"Meyrin, you're a really good friend to me, so please forgive me, because I don't want to lose you."

And as she looked into his eyes, Meyrin knew that she would never forget that moment for the rest of her life.

* * *

There was a gentle tap on her shoulder, and Cagalli nearly shouted in shock when she saw who it was that did it. 

Ryo was kneeling next to her, offering her a handkerchief, a rather awkward smile on his face.

"I'm awfully sorry for barging in without first informing you, Your Highness, but when I heard your cries I thought you might be in trouble. I just want you to know that though I may not be efficient enough to solve your every problem, but being your bodyguard, it is my job to make sure that you are not hurt – in any way at all."

Cagalli took the handkerchief from him wordlessly, and then touched, she started to cry again, but this time they were tears of gratitude.

"Thank you." She said simply. "Thank you."

* * *

It was eight at night, and Cagalli had just had the longest conversation with her bodyguard since she had met her. To her surprise, Ryo was actually quite an amiable character to talk to. He had just finished recounting a rather humorous incident that happened during his training, and was smiling at her, his eyes full of amusement. 

Cagalli's eyes widened as she looked at him. As he had before, he reminded her of Ahmed…

"Ryo, if you don't mind me asking, where were you from?" She asked quietly.

Ryo hesitated, and then smiled sadly at her. "I don't know. I was… sold when I was very young. I never actually knew where I was from, and I don't really remember much of my real family either."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"Nah. It's… It's ok. I'm mostly happy with the way my life turned out anyway." Ryo turned to face Cagalli, "Your Highness, could I ask _you_ a question?"

"Erm. Sure – but that doesn't mean I'll answer it."

"Well… when we first met, you said that I… reminded you of someone." Ryo said, "would it be alright to know… just who that someone is?"

"Of course... His name was Ahmed, and he was the best friend I ever had." Cagalli replied, and all at once, the memories of her days with the Desert Dawn came flooding back. It was a bittersweet feeling, both nostalgic and sad, and Ahmed was at the centre of it all.

"Ah… How is it that I never hear you mention him then?"

"He's … He's dead."

"…I… I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry." Cagalli said, giving him a small sad smile. "Ahmed would never have wanted anyone to feel bad on his account. Never."

* * *

In the dead of the night, Kisaka was awoken purely by the gut instinct that someone was snooping around in his study. He lay still in bed, straining his ears to hear what was going on. 

Very faintly, he could hear soft shuffling sounds. Then there was silence, and Kisaka wondered if he had been dreaming, but just as he was about to give up and go back to sleep, his ears picked up the sound again.

_There's an intruder,_ he realized, _He must be looking for the papers._

As silently as he could, Kisaka got out of bed and walked towards his study, a gun held firmly in his hands. He had one kept in his bedside drawer ever since the attacks started – just in case.

He inched towards the door, and as he moved, he grew more and more certain that there was someone in the next room who wasn't supposed to be there.

Finally, Kisaka flung open the door and in one fluid moment switched on the lights.

The room had been ransacked. Papers were strewn everywhere, and files had been emptied.

But what was worse was that the documents Athrun passed to him were missing. The enemy now knew what they had…

The cold night air billowed in through the open window, chilling Kisaka to his bones.

_That must have been how the intruder got in – and out._ He leaned over to shut it, and then shook his head wearily.

_Time is running out._

_

* * *

A/N:_

_To Cari-Akira: Hey there, just to clarify – what I meant was that Lacus told Kira to talk to Athrun about his attitude towards Meyrin, not that Lacus compared Cagalli to Fllay XD Also, Kira's example was more of comparing himself with Athrun rather than Cagalli with Fllay… Much as I actually like Fllay, I don't think Cagalli and her have actually have anything in common ... Haha… So… Yup. (:  
_


	12. Another attack

**Part 12**

Previously-

_The cold night air billowed in through the open window, chilling Kisaka to his bones._

_That must have been how the intruder got in – and out. He leaned over to shut it, and then shook his head wearily._

_Time is running out._

_

* * *

_

Breakfast the next day was a very unpleasant affair.

Cagalli and Kisaka were at the table waiting for their food (Because of the attacks, all of the food had to be tested before they could be served, hence the delay) when Kisaka cleared his throat and announced that the palace had been burgled the night before.

"_What?" _Cagalli exclaimed incredulously in response to his report. "_Burgled?_ Why am I only hearing about this now? Why didn't anyone wake me up last night when the security of the palace was compromised?"

"Forgive me, Princess, "burgled" might be a bit of an exaggeration." Kisaka explained, "I woke up last night when I heard someone creeping around in my room, when I went to investigate, I found that the room had been ransacked. Upon investigation, I realized that nothing was missing except for… certain documents. I informed security, and a thorough search of the grounds and palace was conducted. However, the intruder was nowhere to be found. I apologize if you think my actions were inappropriate, however, I felt that something of such a small scale was not worth disturbing your sleep over – especially since you've just been discharged from the hospital."

Cagalli glared at Kisaka for a moment, before she finally shook her head and gave a sigh.

"No, no, it's… it's alright. What exactly was taken? Was it anything confidential?"

"Not exactly. The document that was stolen could have been accessed from the Archives down at the Police Headquarters." Kisaka answered truthfully.

Cagalli's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What was it?"

"It… contained information regarding a lead that Athrun had made in the case."

Cagalli stood up abruptly, causing the people around her to stare at her in shock. Her face was suddenly drained of colour, and for once, she looked absolutely _frightened_.

"So, Athrun's dragged you into investigating the case too, huh?" Cagalli's voice, when she finally managed to get it out, was shaky.

Kisaka nodded slowly. "I would have volunteered to help him sooner or later anyway."

"That means… that means they probably know that both Athrun and you are involved in my case…" Cagalli smiled sadly, "They know…"

"Don't worry, Princess, so what if they know?" Kisaka said reassuringly.

"So what if they know? You do know that some of Reyn's men have died throughout the course of the investigation right? You do know that they didn't exactly die under natural circumstances, don't you?" Cagalli's voice was harsh, and she stared directly into Kisaka's eyes, and there, she was met with unwavering loyalty.

"My job was to protect you, Princess, and though I am no longer your bodyguard, I still plan to do just that." Kisaka said, determination filling his voice.

Cagalli sat down slowly, and then nodded.

"Don't think that I'm not grateful for all this, because I am – I truly am. You have sacrificed so much for me, so please be careful, Kisaka. I wouldn't want to lose a friend like you."

Kisaka smiled warmly, and then he laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of myself. I'll make sure Mr. Zala doesn't end up in trouble either."

"Was it necessary for you to mention him?" Cagalli asked warily.

"What's wrong between the two of you?" Kisaka's questioned, concerned, "Are you… Is this about his promotion to the Supreme Council?"

Cagalli sat up straight and stared at Kisaka.

"Pro-promotion?" She stuttered, obviously in shock.

Kisaka's eyebrows shot up. "You mean… he didn't tell you?"

"N-no… Wh-Why am I only he-hearing about this now?"

"It happened while you were in hospital, and very naturally, we didn't think it was appropriate for us to make announcements regarding work while you were unwell." Kisaka said quietly. "I'm sorry if I upset you. I thought that Athrun would have surely told you by now."

"I… No, I'm fine. Excuse me, I don't feel very hungry after all." Cagalli said as she quickly ran from the dining room.

_

* * *

_

"Now that we've stolen the information, why is there still a need to harm them?"

"Just because we know what findings they've made doesn't mean that the information they have does not pose as a threat to us."

"But they haven't discovered anything incriminating yet-"

"Soon, they will. They're on the right track, and you _know_ that."

There was a short sigh, and then a voice full of regret-

"Fine. Fine. But only if absolutely necessary."

The man nodded in approval, and then he turned to the other man who was slouching in the corner.

"Be on guard tomorrow, that fool Kisaka is having tea with the Chief Inspector. Make sure that nothing goes wrong."

_­­­­­­­­­­­_

_

* * *

_

"So… some papers were stolen last night?" Reyn asked, furrowing his brow.

"Unfortunately." Kisaka replied sighing, as he poured Reyn a cup of tea.

"Mr. Zala passed them to you?"

"Yes…"

"If I am not wrong, they supposedly contained leads on the Princess' case?" Chief-Inspector Reyn's lips were tightly pursed, and it was clear that he was highly displeased. Kisaka's lips twitched upward in amusement, and he chuckled lightly as he passed the teacup to him.

"Now, Reyn, I know what you're thinking."

"And what might that be, Kisaka?"

"You're wondering why Athrun didn't pass the information to you, aren't you?"

Reyn gave a little snort of contempt. "Well, I _am_ Chief-Inspector, and I _am_ heading the case. He should have had the respect to consult me if he had found anything."

"Well… considering the treatment you gave him, and how his relations with you are now-"

"The _treatment_ I gave him? Excuse me, but I believe that it was _Mr. Zala_ who more or less threatened me into giving him access to the archives! He is a most reckless, unreasonable, hotheaded, disrespectful and rude young man." Reyn glared at Kisaka, obviously feeling a bit hurt and offended, "Kisaka, you know that I try to be reasonable. How could you possibly side with Zala?"

Kisaka intertwined his fingers and sat back thoughtfully. "I guess it's because he… reminds me of myself in some way. Both of us… are willing to die for Princess Cagalli."

Reyn stared at him in silence for a while, before his countenance relaxed and a small smile appeared on his face. "I… never thought of it that way before. I must admit I do respect Mr. Zala for his loyalty towards the Princess, especially since he isn't even a citizen of Orb. But at this point, there is no way I can bring myself to like him."

Kisaka smiled warmly at his friend, "Fair enough."

Reyn returned the smile, and then his face turned serious. "I don't suppose you could tell me what Mr. Zala found? After all, if the enemy thought it was worth creeping around in your study and jumping from the window, it must have been something."

Kisaka's expression changed suddenly, and he nodded solemnly.

"Just a moment, I'll tell you what I've found so far."

_

* * *

_

Athrun was trying to draft a proposal when Meyrin came into his office after knocking on his door twice.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, Athrun, but there's an important call on line 2."

"It's alright, Meyrin." Athrun said good-naturedly. He picked up the phone and held it to his ear as Meyrin walked out of his office.

"Hello? Cagalli?" Athrun said in surprise.

A minute later, Athrun and Meyrin were running out of the building and into the carpark.

"I don't mean to be rude, Athrun, but it would be nice if you could tell me what's happening." Meyrin said breathlessly as Athrun unlocked the car door. "Why are we going to the hospital? What's happened?"

"Kisaka was attacked while he was having tea with Reyn. Someone threw him out of the window."

_

* * *

_

Cagalli never thought that she would be back in the hospital so soon. This time, however, it was Kisaka who was the patient. Bandages were tied firmly around his chest and the top of his head. A tube from his nose hooked him up to a machine, which ensured that he would have sufficient air to survive.

Cagalli would never have thought that Kisaka would be in a coma. Though she was grateful that he wasn't dead, a coma was no better. It was like hanging onto the ledge of a cliff – you never know if you'll slip, or if you'll ever get rescued.

Kira had his arm over Cagalli's shoulder, and Lacus had slipped her hand into hers. Though Cagalli was touched by their gestures and knew they were trying to comfort her, she could not put her mind at ease at all. Kisaka – the one man who had been there with her for as long as she could remember, was now lying in the hospital bed because of her.

Ryo, Athrun and Meyrin stood next to the three of them silently, and Reyn was sitting next to Kisaka, shaking his head as he clenched and unclenched his fists over and over again.

It was Athrun who broke the tense and uncomfortable silence.

"What happened, exactly?"

The question was directed at Reyn, and the others turned to him expectantly as well. Though he had already made a statement with the police, no one amongst them had heard the full story, and in their initial anxiousness, no one had asked.

Reyn sensed that all eyes were on him, and he looked up and sighed.

"I… I was having tea with Kisaka. He had invited me over. He told me about the stolen papers, and suddenly during our conversation he seemed to have a brainwave. He was about to tell me about his discovery when… a man burst into the room. He charged straight at Kisaka and the next thing I knew… Kisaka was… flying out of the window. It's lucky that the ground below was grassy and we were only on the third floor. I-I took out my gun and shot him in the leg as he was running away. He's… He's in custody now." Reyn said shakily, as if he had just been forced to relive a nightmare.

"Who is he?" Athrun asked.

"Pardon?"

"Who is the attacker?"

"He- Apparently one of the kitchen staff. A young man named Aaron Dayes. I've asked one of my assistants to conduct a search on his background."

Athrun nodded. "We need to work fast. The enemy knows-"

"Work fast? Athrun, give it up already." Cagalli's voice suddenly sounded. "Kisaka's in a coma, and do you why he's there? It's because he tried to save my life. No, Athrun, I'd rather not have anyone getting seriously hurt or dying because of me. In fact, Chief-Inspector Reyn, I would appreciate it if you stopped investigating this case as well."

There was a stunned silence around the room.

"What did you just say?" Reyn asked in disbelief.

"I said stop investigating. I can protect myself. I don't need anyone to do it for me." With that, Cagalli marched out of the hospital ward.

"Don't listen to her-" Athrun started hastily as he started running out of the room as well.

"Well, of course, did you seriously think that I would do what she just asked me to do? I would never give up on the Princess, you nitwit!" Reyn called out after him irritably.

_

* * *

_

Athrun found Cagalli and Ryo at the hospital's garden. Ryo was trailing Cagalli, looking a bit awkward as Cagalli continued to fume and kick at clumps of grass.

"Cagalli…" He called out, and when Cagalli saw him, she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Athrun?"

"Could I speak to you?"

"Well, aren't you already doing that?"

"Privately, I mean." Athrun said, staring pointedly to Ryo. Cagalli sighed exasperatedly, and then nodded at Ryo, who silently walked a few meters away, such that he could still keep Cagalli in his sight.

"Alright, Athrun. You can talk now."

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Ask us to stop investigations."

Cagalli glared at him impatiently. "I thought I already told all of you. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"So you'd rather get killed?"

"I… I don't want to see anymore innocent people dying or getting hurt because of me."

"But by letting them go, they'll have gotten away with killing so many. There's no justice-"

Cagalli let out a dry laugh and cut Athrun off. "Justice! With you, it's always about noble principles. But what about the people? Aren't lives worth more than justice? Let me ask you, Athrun, didn't it hurt when your father died?"

Athrun's features became immediately stony, and Cagalli's voice softened.

"As much as possible, I don't want anyone else to feel that pain."

"I… I know."

Cagalli smiled. "So you see, Athrun? If I just let them take me, it'd be much easier."

"But that would be running away, Cagalli. Don't run. To live… To live is to fight."

Cagalli could only stare quietly as she recognized her own words. Athrun smiled gently at her and continued, "It's not just about justice, Cagalli, it's a lot more than that. Your men were willing to lay their lives down for you, if you give up now, you'll be letting them now. You'll have let them die in vain."

There was a long pause, and then Cagalli finally nodded.

"Alright, alright. We'll continue the investigations then. Please inform me of when we're meeting up to discuss the case-"

"We?"

"Yes. We. I want to be part of this too. Heaven knows why I never thought of participating in it sooner, I guess I was too bogged down by everything. But now, I suppose, I'll have Kira take over some of the work for the time being."

"Well, Cagalli, I'm impressed by your spirit. Let's go back, then." Athrun held out a hand to Cagalli, but to his surprise, she didn't take it.

"No, Athrun. You can tell them for me. I'm going to walk around some more. After all, I can't always be beside you, especially not when you join the Supreme Council." She flashed him a sad smile and turned to walk towards Ryo; and as Athrun realized that Cagalli had already found out about his promotion, he felt himself filling with guilt once more.

_

* * *

_

_A/N:_

_To Cari-Akira: Hey, no problem (: Nah, I'm not offended. Haha._

_I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed! I know I'm taking an awfully long time to update, but my results have been going down lately so… Yeah… Hahaha. Thanks for bearing with me – just a few more chapters to go till the ending, I think. So watch this space!_


	13. Obscurity

**Part 13**

Previously-

"_Well, Cagalli, I'm impressed by your spirit. Let's go back, then." Athrun held out a hand to Cagalli, but to his surprise, she didn't take it._

"_No, Athrun. You can tell them for me. I'm going to walk around some more. After all, I can't always be beside you, especially not when you join the Supreme Council." She flashed him a sad smile and turned to walk towards Ryo; and as Athrun realized that Cagalli had already found out about his promotion, he felt himself filling with guilt once more._

_

* * *

_

Cagalli had no idea when she had felt more bored in her life. Sure, parties were a yawn, and sometimes summits seemed to drag on forever, but she had thought that investigations would be more exciting. It was only one hour into the meeting, and already she felt that sleeping. All they had done so far was to review everything she already knew.

"Cagalli… _Cagalli_…" Athrun whispered to her, knocking her out of her daze. She was about to retort him sharply when she realized that the rest of the table had their eyes on her.

"Yes?" She said with as much dignity as possible.

"I… was just saying that my men finished the report on Kisaka's attacker, and I was wondering if you would like to take a look." Reyn said almost disapprovingly at Cagalli's lack of attention.

"Uh. Erm. Sure. Ok." She replied as Reyn passed a thick file to her.

As Cagalli flipped it open, she couldn't help but utter a sharp cry of surprise.

"Is something wrong?" Reyn asked at once.

"That's… that's…"

She stared at the picture of Kisaka's attacker, and she couldn't help but think that she had seen this face before.

"That's the waiter whom I tripped over during the ball where I was nearly burnt to death."

_

* * *

_

"Aaron Dayes, twenty-four years old. He graduated from Orb University, just like the guy who tried to knife Cagalli." Athrun said thoughtfully after they had all absorbed the newly found information. Flipping through the papers, he suddenly looked up from the file and shot a look at Ryo.

"Say, Mr. Handel, you went to Orb University too didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." Ryo said stiffly, "What are you trying to imply?"

"Nothing, except, did you know either of them?"

"Not at all. I saw them around in school, but I didn't know them personally." Ryo paused, and then realized that Athrun was still looking at him with a curious glint in his eye. "Again, Mr. Zala, I ask you, what are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

_

* * *

_

It had been a week since the attack on Kisaka and the breach in the palace security, and during that week, meetings and discussions had been held about the situation and the investigations. Although the situation seemed critical, Athrun Zala refused to divulge what information he had told Kisaka, leading both Reyn and Cagalli to be utterly frustrated about him.

Aside from that, Athrun had also pushed for an extra meeting to be held – at 11 p.m. in his study no less. At Athrun's insistence, Reyn had kept the meeting as small as possible. The fewer people who knew the plan, the better for the investigations – they had to minimize the threat of a leak of information at all costs.

"This meeting has begun." Reyn said as both he and Athrun stood up, surveying the faces around him. Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, Meyrin and Ryo. "Mr. Zala has called for this meeting today… in order to, I believe, discuss a plan which he hopes will decrease the threat on the Princess' life. He has discussed it with me prior to the meeting, and I think that it is a… good plan, and I have approved of it." Reyn motioned towards Athrun.

Athrun nodded and then promptly started, "As all of you know, the security in the palace has been compromised. Cagalli is no longer safe there. We are, therefore, proposing that Cagalli hide away some place safe for the time being-"

"_Hide away?_" cried Cagalli incredulously, "Who's going to run the country then?"

"Kira will take over your position as Head of Orb – for a while." Athrun replied, looking a bit nervous.

"Kira? But Kira hasn't had much experience! I know I asked for Kira to take over take over _some_ of my work, but I really don't think he should take over _all_ of it!"

"Lacus has agreed to help him."

Cagalli clenched and then unclenched her fist, looking as if she was about to launch into a tirade of objections, but before she could open her mouth, Athrun had seized the short moment of silence and continued.

"The Chief-Inspector, Mr. Handel, Meyrin, and I will be escorting Cagalli to the hideout. The second in command will take over the investigations for Cagalli's case. Only when the situation seems more stable, or when the case is solved, will Cagalli return to Orb. All right, I guess that's the plan in brief –any questions?" Athrun rushed out, speaking as quickly as he could before he could get interrupted again. Cagalli waved her hand in the air, and Athrun had to bite his lip from smiling in amusement.

"Yes, Cagalli?"

"Won't I be stuck on wherever we're hiding at for a long time?"

"That depends, of course, on how fast the case is cracked."

"Ha, then where are we going to get our supplies from?"

"We've ensured that the hideout is stocked with enough to last us for 2 years. But just in case – there's radio equipment in the hideout, and we can call for supplies to be delivered by air."

At this point, Kira's eyebrows furrowed, and he raised his hand.

"Kira?"

"There's something I don't understand. I understand that Mr. Handel has to go with Cagalli because he's her bodyguard, and I understand that you have to go because – er – of personal reasons, but I don't really comprehend why it is necessary for Miss Hawke to go, wouldn't it be more dangerous for her? And also… Wouldn't it be more productive if the Chief-Inspector stayed behind to investigate the case?" Kira asked.

"Athrun felt that it would be good for Cagalli to have female company." Meyrin said, "and since Lacus was needed in Orb, he thought I was the next most suitable candidate for the job. As for the Chief-Inspector…" Meyrin's voice held a questioning tone, and it was obvious that she also wondered what the reasons for his going with Cagalli were.

Like it had been in the hospital, all eyes turned towards Reyn yet again. He licked his lips, and then began his explanation.

"Mr. Zala had initially asked me to stay behind to lead the investigation, however, I do not that think there would be much of a difference with regards to the investigation if I go or stay. Firstly, there will be a stable network set up between the Orb police force headquarters and the hideout, so we'll be able to assess the situation from there.

"And secondly, I don't think that I would make… much development. I have been working on this case ever since the attacks started, and before Mr. Zala came into the picture, there were barely any leads at all. No… I do not think I would be effective as an investigator, I would rather follow the Princess and make sure that she does not come into any harm." Reyn replied quietly, his shoulders slumped, looking weary and defeated.

"No, you're not ineffective! You've tried your best." Cagalli said at once, trying to reassure Reyn.

"It's alright, Your Highness, there's no need to console me-"

"I am not consoling you, I am speaking the truth." Cagalli replied, "All – All of you have tried your best to help me, and I can see that, I'm not blind." She paused, and then after thinking a while, she started again.

"Alright. Although I'm a bit worried at leaving Orb in the hands of my little brother, I… approve of this plan." She said, though it came out a tad bit reluctantly. "When do we leave?"

Athrun grinned.

"Tomorrow."

_

* * *

_

The group was at the jetty at 4 a.m. the next morning: Cagalli, looking positively grumpy at being awoken without having had her fill of sleep; Athrun, whose brows were furrowed as though he was thinking through a difficult problem (which he happened to be); Reyn, who looked a little nervous at the lack of guards around (Athrun had managed to persuade him that the less people who knew about this operation, the higher the success rate and the less the need for actual security to be around); Kira, who was worriedly looking through a notebook in which Cagalli had hastily noted down some tips and instructions the night before; Lacus, who patiently explained technicalities to Kira when he asked her questions; Meyrin, who was looking at Athrun from time to time; and Ryo, who was sneaking looks at Meyrin occasionally.

"It's time." Athrun announced as the doors of the vessel were lowered.

Cagalli hugged both Kira and Lacus, and then as she turned to face them she smiled for the first time that morning.

"I don't know when I'm going to see the both of you again, but I just want to tell you two that you are the best people I have ever met. I hope… I hope that we'll see each other again soon. I… Thank you, Kira and Lacus, just- thank you."

When all farewells were made, Athrun, Cagalli, Meyrin, Ryo, and Reyn boarded the boat, which was programmed to take them to the hideout. However, as the doors were closing, Cagalli suddenly stood up and yelled anxiously to her twin brother on shore.

"KIRA! ONE LAST THING! YOU KNOW, I TRULY BELIEVE IN YOUR ABILITY BUT - YOU BETTER MAKE SURE ORB ISN'T IN PIECES WHEN I RETURN! YOU BETTER MAKE SURE YOU DON'T SCREW UP THAT MEETING WITH THE ASIAN AMBASSADOR! YOU BETTER MAKE YOU MANAGE TO SIGN THAT DEAL WITH-"

Just then, the metallic doors clamped shut, leaving a rather bewildered Kira shouting "WHAT MEETING?" as the quickly disappearing vessel sped off into the horizon.

_

* * *

_

The vessel's seats were arranged in pairs, and much to Cagalli's dismay and Ryo's secret delight (this meant that the seat next to Meyrin was free, after all), Athrun had immediately taken the seat next to Cagalli.

Throughout the journey, Cagalli tried her best not to look at Athrun and gave only monosyllabic answers to every query he had for her.

_That's right, Cagalli, keep ignoring him and maybe it'll be easier to forget him when he leaves for PLANTs. _

"Stop ignoring me, Cagalli." Athrun's voice suddenly sounded, and Cagalli's head snapped up at once, wondering if it was possible that he had read her thoughts.

"Huh?" She replied eloquently.

"You've barely said anything to me since that day you got discharged."

"That's not true!" Cagalli quickly retorted, though she knew very well that she was lying. Athrun stared at her hard, and she cleared her throat and tried to think of something to say to change the subject.

"So, uh, erm, where's this secret hideout anyway?" She asked.

Surprisingly, Athrun did not try to steer her back to the topic they had been discussing earlier on. Instead, he grinned mischievously.

"Oh, you've been there before."

"I have?"

"Yup. I'm even willing to bet that you remember it clearly."

"Ha, if that's the case, then how secret can this place be?"

"You'll see." Athrun assured. At that moment, the vessel came to a stop and a slightly mechanical sounding voice announced that they had reached their destination. The five of them lugged their personal belongings and stepped out into the glorious sunlight.

As Cagalli's eyes took in the surroundings, she realized that Athrun was right.

It was the island where the two of them had first met.

_Oh GREAT, _Cagalli thought with a sinking feeling settling in her stomach, _how am I supposed to ignore or forget him now when everything here reminds me of him?_

_

* * *

_

To Cagalli's immense relief, their lodgings were not in the cave where Athrun and her had previously spent the night, but were somewhere in the forest instead. In fact, their hideout turned out to be a bungalow covered with vines so that it somehow managed to blend into the surroundings.

As Cagalli entered her new room, she couldn't help but feel impressed. It was furnished beautifully, and it was certainly more than she had expected.

"Do you like it?"

Athrun's voice made her jump, and she immediately turned round and scowled at him.

"Sheesh, haven't you heard of knocking?" She said, face starting to colour, and then reluctantly she nodded, "Yes, I like the place very much." Then she smiled at him, "Thank you. It… It must have been a lot of work. How did you get this place fixed up so fast anyway?"

"I thought something like this might be necessary once I heard that about the attacks. I had a talk with Kisaka and he agreed. He allowed me access to the island and I managed to get one of my family's summer houses transported her in matter of days."

At the mention of Kisaka's name, Cagalli remembered something that had been nagging at the back of her mind for days.

"Athrun… Why can't you tell us what you asked Kisaka to find out?" Cagalli asked, and Athrun's face immediately darkened.

"All in good time, Cagalli. All in good time."

"But- during the meetings in this past week, you've kept mum about the information and you've refused to say anything about it. Why, Athrun?"

Athrun hesitated. "Some things… aren't confirmed. I'm afraid that I would be complicating matters by laying down what I've found. Other than that, I've also no solid proof. But most of all, I'm laying a trap."

"A trap?"

"Yes. A trap." Athrun's looked serious now, and he placed his hands firmly on Cagalli's shoulders.

"Cagalli, the only thing I can tell you now is – _don't trust anyone_. Sometimes, things aren't always what they seem."

With that ominous word of advice lingering in the air, Athrun walked out of the room.

_

* * *

_

_A/N:_

_AnimeCrazyLovingRoyalty: Thanks for the review (: As to regards to Yzak… I don't think he's going to appear in this fic at all. I wanted to concentrate mainly on the relationship between Cagalli and Athrun, so, yeah… Maybe next time (;_


	14. Countdown

**Part 14**

Previously-

"_A trap?"_

"_Yes. A trap." Athrun's looked serious now, and he placed his hands firmly on Cagalli's shoulders._

"_Cagalli, the only thing I can tell you now is – don't trust anyone. Sometimes, things aren't always what they seem."_

_With that ominous word of advice lingering in the air, Athrun walked out of the room._

_

* * *

_

"Do you think I could have some chilli sauce with this?" Cagalli said hopefully during dinner that night. Everything was canned or preserved, and Cagalli cringed inwardly at the prospect of having to eat the same few foods for 2 years straight. _I think I'd rather starve…_

"Nope." Athrun said, sounding almost too cheerful. "I guess we were so busy planning that we forgot all about them."

"You _didn't_…" Cagalli growled.

Athrun grinned and shrugged. "Looks like you'll have to live without spicy food until the case is solved."

"You… You… You…"

"Ha, what are _you_ going to do about it?"

At this point, Reyn rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me, Mr. Zala, I hope you don't take offence, but I can't stand another second of your childish behaviour. Your Highness, Mr. Zala is of course, lying. He personally made sure that 1000 packets of chili sauce were transported onto the island. They are currently in the pantry, I'll go get them for you if you like." Reyn said crisply, getting out of his seat.

"No, it's ok, I'll get them myself-" Cagalli started, but Reyn waved her protests aside and walked out of the room.

Cagalli sighed, and then turned to Athrun, who was still wearing an unusually wide grin on his face.

"You seem… rather… _cheerful_. Any reason for that?" Cagalli asked suspiciously.

"Well. Many."

"Yeah? Like?"

Athrun pretended to think, but when he answered, his voice has lost the teasing tone and he sounded like he absolutely meant his words. "You're sitting next to me, and you're alive and in the pink of health. That's a good reason to be happy, don't you think?"

"That's… That's such a lame reason!" Cagalli sputtered, trying unsuccessfully to keep herself from blushing. _Focus girl, you're supposed to ignore him, right? … Not like that's been working very well so far, anyway._

"Huh. That's what I get for being honest." Athrun replied, his tone jesting once more.

"Oh you-" Cagalli stopped mid-sentence when she suddenly realized that there was only the two of them left at the table. "Hey, where did Meyrin and Ryo go?"

_

* * *

_

_"You're sitting next to me, and you're alive and in the pink of health. That's a good reason to be happy, don't you think?"_

Meyrin heard the words replaying in her head over and over again, and for some reason, she felt like her heart was breaking yet again. At first, she had just sat silently and wished that their banter would stop, but when it became evident that it wasn't going to, she stood up shakily and ran out of the room.

The worst thing of it was that Athrun hadn't even noticed that she was gone.

Feeling the need for fresh air, she made her way to the fourth floor, where there was a balcony. She flung the double doors open and stepped over the threshold. The view that met her was a sight to behold – she could see the tops of hundreds of trees, stretching out as far as the eye could see. It was fortunate that there was a full moon that night, for if not for its pale glow, she probably wouldn't have been able to make out much of the landscape at all.

She felt someone tap her shoulder and she jumped. For one hopeful moment, she thought that it might be Athrun, but as she turned around, she realized that she was wrong.

"Oh. Ryo. What brings you here? Shouldn't you be having dinner?" Meyrin asked, trying not to her disappointment show.

"I could be asking you the same question. What's wrong, Meyrin?"

"I… I just wanted some fresh air. That's all." Meyrin said, forcing a smile to her face.

"Pretending something isn't there doesn't make it go away." Ryo said dryly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever you want it to." Ryo leaned against the railing, and then he looking at his hands and flexed his fingers. "Look, I'm not going to force you to tell me, but even if you don't, it's obvious – You're in love with Mr. Zala."

After the words left his mouth, Ryo immediately pressed his eyes shut, preparing for Meyrin to blow up at him or to leave. To his surprise, Meyrin did neither of those things. Instead, she laughed.

"Yes. Yes, I guess you're right." Meyrin said, sounding utterly miserable. "Deep inside, I knew it was impossible, but… I always hoped… that maybe he would love me instead of… instead of Cagalli…"

"Do you hate the Princess?" Ryo asked suddenly.

Meyrin's eyes widened in surprise, and then after some consideration, she answered his question truthfully.

"Sometimes. But- but not because of how she is, it's more of how Athrun likes her."

"Would you… would you kill her?"

"Of course not!" Meyrin exclaimed, "You aren't suspecting me of trying to do her in, are you?"

"Not at all! I'm sorry if I offended you." Ryo said hastily, "I…I was just… wondering…"

"Wondering?"

"I was just wondering… why people kill…"

_

* * *

_

Athrun and Cagalli were about to get out to search for Meyrin and Ryo when Reyn returned. In the instant that Athrun reached for the door handle, the door swung open and Reyn entered the room with a few packets of chilli sauce in his hand. He looked at them questionably, his left eyebrow raised.

"Done with dinner already?" He asked in disbelief.

"No, we were going to search for Ryo and Meyrin. They disappeared all of a sudden." Cagalli explained.

"Ah. Those two." Reyn said, his lips almost pursed in displeasure. "You don't need to worry about them. They're safe."

"How… How do you know?" Cagalli asked.

"Well, as I was nearing the dining room, I suddenly saw Miss Hawke run out, followed by Mr. Handel. I chased Mr. Handel down and asked him what was going on. He told me that it was no matter of importance, and that he just wanted to comfort Miss Hawke who seemed to be upset. Before I could reprimand him about forgetting his target and leaving your side, he just ran straight past me." Reyn sighed and shook his head. "Kids these days, they can't even learn to control their hormones for duty's sake."

_

* * *

_

After that slightly morbid conversation starter, the topic turned back to Meyrin's troubles, and she found herself confiding in Ryo. It was as if all that she had been keeping in herself was let loose, and it felt like a relief to be sharing her thoughts with someone.

"And so you see, I guess I just trapped myself in a hopeless situation by allowing myself to fall for him. I risked all that I had and got him back to Orb, and at that point in time we were just little more than mere acquaintances." Meyrin smiled vaguely into the horizon, and then for once her voice faltered, "Do you- do you think it was… stupid of me?"

"No. I don't think it's stupid." Ryo replied.

"You don't?"

"No, I think… It was lovely of you to do that for someone with no strings attached." Ryo said earnestly, and to his amazement, Meyrin blushed.

_

* * *

_

"You do understand that Athrun Zala's new procedure has thrown our plans off balance? It's almost impossible to achieve it now without getting caught!"

"Yes, I understand."

"Won't you give it up then? It isn't worth it."

"No, I won't. Zala's actions are smart, but I'm smarter yet. His hiding away the Princess will make my job easier."

"But-"

"I won't give up. I can't give up – not now, when I'm so close to seeing the Princess die."

"But-But…"

"Stop trying to convince me otherwise, it just makes me more determined. Don't you see? I'll never give this up. Never. Not until the Princess drops dead."

There was a pause, and then the conversation started again –

"When are you going to strike?"

"When? I would say… A week from now."

_

* * *

_

Cagalli woke up at 5 a.m. with an odd feeling of homesickness at the pit of her stomach. It had been just one day, and she was already starting to miss the palace. She crept out of bed and stared out of the window, but all she could see was a mass of green.

Sighing, she lay down again and tried to go back to sleep. After tossing and turning for a while, she gave up. Flinging her comforter off the bed, she put on her sandals and decided to go for a walk on the beach.

It was a pleasant walk, and Cagalli soon found herself on the same spot where Athrun had tied her up and threw her gun into the sea, while she rolled around in the sand, cursing the blue-haired coordinator. She had been thoroughly annoyed at that point – a little frightened; after all, Athrun _had_ almost killed her - but mostly uncomfortable and irritated.

_We were complete strangers then… and we had been trying to kill each other. It's funny how he's trying to save my life now. _Cagalli smiled at the irony, and then looked up to the calm morning sky. Just then, she felt the presence of someone watching her.

She turned around swiftly, her imagination running wild, and then when she saw who it was, she gave a sigh of relief.

"Was it necessary to stand there without saying anything, Ryo?"

"No… but you seemed to be lost in your thoughts. I didn't think it would be very nice to disturb you." Ryo said. He was already dressed in his customary suit, and he held out a jacket to Cagalli. "Here. The chief inspector will probably kill me if you get a chill."

"Thanks," Cagalli said as she took the jacket, "How did you know I was here?"

"I'm a light-sleeper, and you're just in the room next to mine. I heard you shuffling about, so I followed you here."

"You followed me? What for?"

"I'm still your bodyguard, remember?" Ryo said, and then he grinned sheepishly, "Besides, I don't want to get reprimanded by the chief inspector again."

"Oh, that reminds me of something I've been wanting to ask for some time - are you close to Reyn?"

"Huh?"

"It's just that… he seems rather different when dealing with your affairs. That time during the fire, Reyn looked absolutely furious with you. I rarely see him get mad with subordinates. Then again, maybe it's because there aren't many situations that call for such critical attention…"

"No, you're right. I _am_ close to him." Ryo closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Cagalli was surprised to see that they looked a little wet.

"Remember how I told you that I was sold when I was very young? I worked as a servant for this family, and they didn't … exactly treat me very well." Ryo said, a bitter tone creeping into his voice. "When I was about 8, the cook poisoned the family in attempt to run away with their money, but he was caught. I was to be sent to an orphanage, but the chief inspector took pity on me and took me in."

"Oh." Cagalli answered quietly, "That does sound like something Reyn would do."

Ryo nodded, and for a moment, both of them remained silent, drinking in the picturesque scenery of the sand and sea around them. Then, out of nowhere, Athrun seemed to pop up beside Cagalli.

"Hey, I thought I might find you here. Breakfast is ready." He said to the both of them. Cagalli nearly jumped – what was with guys and walking so quietly? Couldn't they make more noise so that she would be informed that they were there before the very last minute?

"Sheesh, would it hurt to walk with louder footsteps?" Cagalli said irritably.

"Good morning to you too, come on, let's go." Athrun replied breezily as he took her arm. Cagalli shook it off and rolled her eyes.

"There's no need to hold my hand. I can walk by myself, thank you very much." She said, taking great strides towards the bungalow. It was at that moment that her sandal caught onto a rock, and the next thing she knew, she had tripped and was sprawled on the ground. Both Ryo and Athrun tried to keep themselves from sniggering, and Athrun walked forward to help her up.

As he bent down, a necklace with a red stone as a pendant slipped out of his shirt.

All at once, the three of them gave rather curious reactions.

Cagalli blushed and turned away as she took his arm, muttering about how she couldn't believe that Athrun still had the necklace with him.

Athrun smiled and surprisingly blushed too, as he pulled Cagalli to her feet.

For Ryo, it was confusion, and then suddenly there came a comprehension and a very quick wave of fury that passed through his face, contorting his features. In an instant, it was gone, and his face was blank once more.

_

* * *

_

_A/N:_

_A REALLY random thought: Somehow, I always get teary-eyed every time I watch the part in GSD where Athrun walks away from Cagalli after explaining why he went back to ZAFT ): It makes me want to reach into the screen, shake Athrun by his shoulders, and go "NOOOOOOO!". Heh._

_Edit: Oh, and about the stone - I watched Gundam Seed quite a while ago, so I couldn't really remember some of the details. A few sites I visited had said something about how Cagalli had given to Athrun the GREEN stone that Ahmed (or rather his mother, or so the site said) gave her upon his death. Weird. Did Cagalli actually give Athrun TWO stones or are the sites just... screwed up! (Though I highly doubt the former because I remember there only being one stone. Cough.) Thanks for pointing it out anyway (:  
_


	15. A taste of reality

**Part 15**

Previously-

_Athrun smiled and surprisingly blushed too, as he pulled Cagalli to her feet._

_For Ryo, it was confusion, and then suddenly there came a comprehension and a very quick wave of fury that passed through his face, contorting his features. In an instant, it was gone, and his face was blank once more._

_

* * *

_

The party of 5 sat in the communications room that evening, which consisted of a whole lot of fancy equipment and two screens. On one screen were Kira and Lacus, and on the other, there was the Reyn's second in command, the deputy chief inspector. Kira was looking a trifle nervous, while Lacus was looked happy to see all of them. The deputy looked troubled, and riffled through a few papers as he frowned.

"Chief inspector, I'm afraid that investigation has found some rather startling breakthroughs." The deputy began, "The first assassin, Gerald Naras, is distantly related to Jona Roma Saran. In fact, as you probably have already noticed, his assumed name spelt backwards gives you 'Saran'. He was… faintly obsessed with Saran, and we believe that his motive in participating in this operation is because of… err… the Princess' actions against Saran during the last war."

Cagalli's eyebrows shot right up. "Faintly obsessed? How 'faintly' are we talking about?"

"Let just put it this way – when we visited his apartment today, we discovered some things hidden away beneath the floorboards under his bed that we hadn't previously. In there, there was a collection of every newspaper article Saran appeared in, a photocopy of his birth and death certificates, a whole photo album full of his photos, bits of his diary, and even some of Saran's handkerchiefs, a pair of his shoes, and some hairs and nail clippings." The deputy rattled, looking a bit disgusted at the last few items on the list.

"Wow… That… IS… disturbing." Cagalli commented. "So this guy was… erm… a big fan of Jona, huh?"

"Indeed. Aside from that, he attended Orb University with the second assassin, Aaron Dayes. They were apparently in the same course, and were relatively friendly with each other."

"Please, don't tell me Dayes is a Saran fan too."

"No, no, his motives were… thankfully different. I believe that his motivation was the fact that his entire family was killed during the first war. He wanted revenge against the royal family, I would expect."

"Ah." Cagalli replied, and for a moment, she thought of Shinn Asuka, whose family was also killed in the war. How many more people were there who hated them because of the decisions that her family made?

"What's disturbing is how… he managed to get into the palace, and even that job as a waiter during the ZAFT's annual ball." The deputy continued. "I understand that all employment in the palace is screened personally by Kisaka, however, I couldn't find any of Dayes' interview or job application records. It was as if he was just given the employment pass and turned up for work one day."

"Which means…" Athrun said suddenly, his eyes lighting up.

"There is a mole." The deputy finished grimly.

This newfound fact caused most of them to gape in shock, even Kira and Lacus who were listening in. Athrun's posture grew noticeably more rigid, and he put his arm around Cagalli's shoulder. Cagalli, who would have shrugged it off if she weren't so deep in thought, was frowning and looking a bit bewildered.

After a few moments, the deputy gave a small cough and all eyes were raised to his screen again.

"Yes, so… That's the end of my report." The deputy said rather awkwardly.

"Moving on – Mr. Yamoto and Miss Clyne, is there anything you two would like to report?" Reyn asked. Immediately, Cagalli's eyes shot to their screen, and when she saw the expression on Kira's face, an anxious expression immediately appeared on her face.

"What happened?" She demanded.

"Well… uh…" Kira looked at Lacus for support, and she smiled at him encouragingly. He gulped, smiled back weakly, and then continued with his eyes downcast. "Erm. Hahaha. It's rather interesting really."

"_Really?_" Cagalli said, her voice sounding dangerously pleasant. "Do tell, brother dearest."

"Hahahaha… I…er… sort of got the schedules mixed up a bit."

"A bit?"

"Yes, erm. I know I was supposed to meet the Asian ambassador for lunch yesterday, and I found a list of things of what to do and what not to do, but I er… didn't think I would need it that much."

"Kira…"

"I'm sorry, Cagalli! I didn't know he was lactose intolerant, or I would never have offered him that slice of chocolate cake! I-…" Kira's voice died away as he caught the look on Cagalli's face. "Ca- Cagalli? Are you- are you alright?"

The room was dangerously silent, and all eyes were on the Princess, who was looked positively livid with fury. Finally, Cagalli exploded.

"YOU, KIRA, ARE ONE DEAD MAN WHEN I GET BACK TO ORB! DO YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THAT MEETING WAS? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE? I AM GOING TO PERSONALLY MAKE SURE THAT YOUR LIFE BECOMES UNBEARABLE. I AM GOING TO-"

As Cagalli continued with her tirade, the rest of the people in the room tried to restrain her. When it became obvious that there was no way she was going to calm down if Kira was within her sight, they started to drag her out.

"…AND I AM GOING TO LET LOOSE A PACK OF HUNGRY DOGS ON YOU! IF YOU INSIST ON BEING SO COCKY AND NOT REFERRING TO THE LISTS I GAVE YOU AND SCREW UP AGAIN, I SHALL SWIM BACK TO ORB IF I HAVE TO AND STRANGLE YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME, KIRA?" She said before they managed to slam the door shut.

Kira and Lacus were left staring into blank space.

"That went well." Kira said bitterly.

_

* * *

_

"Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out." Cagalli repeated under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut. _I will not worry about Orb, I will not worry about Orb, I will not wo- Oh, who am I kidding?_

She had walked out to the beach again, walking barefoot and enjoying the feel of the fine grains of sand on her skin. The sun was high in the sky, and she squinted upward to look at it, shielding her eyes with her hand. It was a hot day, and Cagalli's throat felt a bit raw and dry after ranting.

She was debating whether or not to go back to the house to get a drink of water when all of a sudden, someone had thrust a bottle of water into her line of vision. Cagalli stepped back, feeling momentarily taken aback. Then she looked at the person holding the bottle, and then immediately frowned.

"Oh. It's you."

Athrun raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" He said, somewhat indignantly.

"Erm. Nothing. Er… What brings you here?"

"I thought you might like something to drink. After all that shouting, I mean." He replied as he held out the water to her again.

"Oh. Thanks." Cagalli said as she took it, feeling rather grateful as she gulped down the water.

Athrun waited for her to finish before he started speaking again. "It's a nice day, isn't it?"

"Er. Yeah."

"So… Have you got anything planned for the day?"

"No."

"Is everything alright?"

"Fine."

"I hope you're not too worried over Orb. I'm sure Kira won't make any more mistakes after that… uh… lecture you gave him."

"Yeah."

"Cagalli… You're giving me monosyllabic answers again."

Cagalli turned to look at him awkwardly, and then she shrugged. "I'm not doing it on purpose."

"Do you remember this place?" Athrun asked suddenly. Cagalli fell silent, and it was a while before she managed to answer.

"Of course I do. You know I do."

Athrun smiled sadly, and his voice was bittersweet when he spoke. "What's happened to us?"

"What?"

"You know it too, Cagalli. Even when we first met, even when we didn't even know each other's names – back then; it was so much easier to talk."

"Things change, Athrun." Cagalli said bluntly. "People change, and sometimes, it's not that easy to piece together what's broken."

"But we could always try." Athrun replied, his voice almost pleading. He moved closer to Cagalli, and before she could protest, he had slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug.

"Athrun… what are you doing?" Cagalli stammered as she blushed furiously.

"Cagalli… please… let's just try…"

He released his hold on her waist and cupped her face with his hands instead. Cagalli knew what was coming, and her brain told her to push him away, but somehow, she couldn't move.

And when their lips met, she didn't want to move at all.

_

* * *

_

Meyrin, Ryo and Reyn were sitting around the dining table. Cagalli had run off somewhere after they had practically dragged her out of the communications room, and Athrun had volunteered to follow to her to make sure nothing harmed her.

Meyrin was looked rather thoughtful as she sat staring at the dining table, head cocked to one side.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ryo chimed as Meyrin turned to look at him. She smiled, and then waved her hand inconsequentially.

"Oh. It's nothing much. I was just wondering about… what you asked last night. What would make someone kill… and I can't help but feel that… the reasons for wanting Cagalli's death so far are rather… absurd…"

"Absurd?"

"Well. First, there's that whole thing about Jona Saran. Though I don't know him personally, I can surmise from almost everyone that he wasn't the most pleasant of people. He was rather obnoxious and vain, and wow… It's rather shocking to think that someone would kill because he was so obsessed over him. And then there's case number 2, I mean, I can understand that Dayes was probably rather upset over his family's death, but still… Cagalli's family isn't directly to blame for it…"

Reyn laughed lightly as he listened in on their conversation. "You haven't seen anything yet. People kill for the weirdest things sometimes, and that's what makes it so scary… How unexpected murder can be."

For a while, Reyn's eyes seemed to glaze over, and then he shook his head and returned to normal. He excused himself to the bathroom, and then walked out of the dining room abruptly.

Meyrin stared at the chief inspector's empty seat. "Looks like this case has a profound impact on almost everyone."

Ryo smiled dryly. "Of course. By the way Meyrin, do you really think Dayes' motive is… nonsensical?"

"Nonsensical? Well, I don't think it's absurd as that Naras guy, but I think it's a rather… trivial reason nonetheless. I mean, I'm sure that neither the Princess nor her father would have wished for his family to die-"

"But so what? Does that bring back the dead?" Ryo's voice was surprisingly harsh, and looked a bit shocked and ashamed at himself after he said it. "Ach- I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from."

"Nah, it's fine." Meyrin replied, looking a bit concerned nonetheless. "Are you ok, though?"

"I'm ok. It's just…" Ryo clenched his fist, voice straining with emotion, "It's just painful to lose your family sometimes… it's a pain that's enough to drive you insane… enough to drive you to do things that you wouldn't do…"

_

* * *

_

In Cagalli's head, a memory played -

It was the day she had met up with Athrun after he had reenlisted in ZAFT. She had run to him, her heart pounding as she came closer and closer.

"_What is the meaning of this, Athrun?" She asked as she put her hands on his shoulder. "This whole time… I've been worried about you this whole time! I couldn't even contact you since things went the way they did, but…"_

_Athrun remained silent, and Cagalli asked the question that had been on her mind ever since he had disappeared from her side._

"_But why?" She asked forlornly._

"_Did you actually think that Orb would quietly back down just because you came into the scene back then?" Athrun's words came out harsher than she expected, and she backed away. "That's not what you were supposed to be doing! Before going out onto the battlefield and saying something like that, you never should've allowed Orb to join that alliance!"_

"_That's…" Cagalli stuttered, trying to find an explanation. _

_The ring she was wearing caught the shine of the sun, and it glinted brightly. Athrun's sharp eyes jumped to it, and for a moment, he looked as if there was some inner-struggle going on. _

_Then it was over, and his face was stony once more._

"_Got it?" He said brusquely, and then he turned around._

"_Ath-Athrun!" She cried out, pleading with him to change his mind one last time._

_He stopped, and then looking back at her, he said distinctly, in his voice full of reason and logic, "Even I… have things I can understand but cannot agree with."_

_He had left her. Left her without so much as a term of endearment, left her without any assurance that he still loved her, that when the time came to make the final choice between principles and love, he would choose her. _

_It was a warm evening, and the sunset was blazing over the world. But as Athrun walked away, Cagalli felt freezing cold inside._

The memory struck Cagalli's mind, and immediately, she was rushed back to reality. _What makes you think he's going to choose you over ZAFT this time? _Her mind asked cynically. _In the past, he had risked his life for you and even given up his identity for you, but in the end, duty still held a stronger calling._

_Why would this time be any different?_

She broke away from the kiss abruptly, and wrenched herself out of his arms.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Athrun. But I don't want to be hurt – not by you again."

With that, she ran off, tears rolling down her cheeks as she cursed herself for breaking the promise not to cry about Athrun ever again.

As Athrun looked at her quickly disappearing figure, the look on his face was almost identical to the one Cagalli wore when he turn around and left for ZAFT more than a year ago.

_

* * *

_

_A/N:_

_Hey guys, I've noted the comments about the necklace... Yup (: I've changed it accordingly, and you can check the previous chapter for the explanation as to why I made the mistake. _


	16. The plot thickens

**Part 16**

Previously-

_With that, she ran off, tears rolling down her cheeks as she cursed herself for breaking the promise not to cry about Athrun ever again._

_As Athrun looked at her quickly disappearing figure, the look on his face was almost identical to the one Cagalli wore when he turned around and left for ZAFT more than a year ago._

_

* * *

_

When Meyrin entered the dining room for breakfast the next day, she found a room full of quiet and tense people. Raising an eyebrow, she cleared her throat, and immediately all eyes were on hers.

"Erm… Good morning. I apologize for interrupting your meal, but I would like to inquire if this belongs to anyone." Meyrin said as she held out a comb. "I went to the living room to see if I left my novel there, but I came upon this on the floor instead."

She scanned the 4 faces sitting on the table, and was met with 4 very blank stares.

"Oh, come on, this _has_ to belong to someone. It definitely wasn't here when we came." She prompted, feeling just a bit irritated at the lack of response. She put it on the table and the 4 of them leaned over to look at it.

"Well, seeing that none of us have the initials 'A.R.', I can safely say that it _doesn't _belong to any of us." Athrun replied, pointing to the letters engraved on the handle of the wooden comb.

"Oops, guess I didn't see that." Meyrin said sheepishly.

Athrun frowned. "Still… Whom could this comb belong to?"

"Well… Perhaps one of the guests in your summerhouse before you brought it here, Mr. Zala?" Reyn suggested, "It may have been there all along, just that we never noticed it."

"But… I was… tidying up the living room the other day, and I definitely didn't see it." Meyrin protested.

"Maybe it was on a shelf and it dropped when someone bumped into it?" Reyn said shrugging.

The matter was more or less agreed upon, and they all went back to their food, leaving the comb very much alone. It was no wonder that no one really noticed when someone pocketed the comb.

_

* * *

_

Athrun was alone in the communications room, and after ensuring the door was locked, switched on the screen, which connected him with the palace.

"Good to see you, Kira." Athrun greeted, as his image flashed onto the screen.

"Good to see you too, Athrun. How's everyone getting along?" Kira asked amiably.

"Oh, fine. I suppose."

"Is everything with Cagalli alright?"

"Not… really." Athrun said, cringing involuntarily as he thought about how she had walked away the day before.

"Remember what I said about hurting her, Athrun…" Kira said, his voice sounding unusually stern.

"I… I don't want to hurt her, Kira."

Kira was silent for a while, and then he shook his head.

"This has nothing to do with wanting to hurt her. I don't believe for a moment that you ever wanted to hurt her, and yet you did. No, Athrun, this is about knowing what you want."

Before Athrun could reply, Kira raised a hand to stop him.

"But anyway, we have matters of consequence to discuss. I've managed to crack Kisaka's system and I've gotten the information you want."

"And?"

"And… It looks like your hunch, as unbelievable as it seems, has some truth in it."

_

* * *

_

Athrun sat back in his chair, the expression on his face grim. Kira had just revealed to him the information that Kisaka had obtained, the same information that had been stolen.

"I… see…"

"Athrun, since we both more or less know what's going on-"

"No, not yet… It isn't as simple as that."

"Athrun, Cagalli is in danger."

"She's in as much danger now as if we were to go back."

"At least there'll be more people to look after her here."

"But there'll be more people who might strike her as well."

Kira closed his mouth instantly, and then he sighed.

"Just… please make sure she stays safe, Athrun."

"Of course. I promised I'd protect her, didn't I?" Athrun said, smiling softly.

_

* * *

_

Athrun was sitting at the dining room table, looking very much perplexed, when Meyrin found him. She walked over to his side and tapped him gently on the shoulder. He looked up at her abruptly, the anxious expression still frozen on his face.

"Is anything wrong?" Meyrin asked.

"I… Where's Cagalli?"

"She's in her bedroom, taking a nap."

"Did she-"

"Yes, I made sure that she locked all the doors and windows before I left her there."

"Oh. Good." Athrun said, his face relaxing a little.

"How's work on the case?"

"I've nearly cracked it… or so I think."

"Or so you think?"

"I can't help… I can't help thinking that I missed something somewhere." Athrun replied, sighing. "Aside from that, I've got no solid proof, just a whole lot of coincidences which make me think that I'm on the right track."

"Ah…" Meyrin said, watching as Athrun started frowning once again. Trying to take his mind off his troubles, she decided to change the subject.

"So… this island… were you hoping that it would bring Cagalli and you closer?"

"Hm?" Athrun said, looking a bit surprised.

"You did mention to me that this was where you and Cagalli first met."

"Oh…" Athrun smiled, his face reddening a bit. "Well, to be honest, yes. I was hoping that she would… give us another chance."

"You and her go way back, huh?"

"Yes…" Athrun laughed, "Do you know that the first time we met, we were trying to kill each other? She shot at me and grazed my arm. I managed to wrestle the gun out of her hand and pin her down to the ground. I was about to strike at her with my dagger when all of a sudden she screamed, and I realized she was a girl."

Meyrin smiled in amusement despite the slight sadness tugging at her heart hearing the fondness of Athrun's voice as he recounted his first meeting with Cagalli. "Athrun Zala, always the perfect gentleman – I suppose you thought it would be ungentlemanly to strike a girl?"

"I… well… I was young. In my mind, all soldiers were men and… I guess… seeing a girl there startled me. Moreover, Cagalli wasn't even enlisted… She was a civilian."

"Do you miss those days, Athrun?" Meyrin asked.

"Pardon?"

"Do you miss… working in the military and flying in the Gundams?"

Athrun looked thoughtful. "I… I guess I do miss flying… But I don't miss the fighting, or the bloodshed, or the uncertainty. The war was borne out of so much hate, and so much hate resulted from it, it turns friends against each other, such that all become enemies…"

Athrun's voice trailed off as he thought of the time he had self-destructed the Aegis, and how he had woken up with Cagalli pointing a gun at him. She had jerked him by the neck of his shirt, and then proceeded to demand to know what he had done with Kira.

When he told her that he had killed Kira, or so he thought, Cagalli had started to cry.

"_Why? Why did you kill him? He was your friend, wasn't he?"_

"_He killed my friend too…"_

"_One person is killed by another. That person gets killed for killing the other. Do you really think that peace will ever come this way?"_

"And still," Meyrin's soft voice interjected his thoughts, "If not for the war, you would probably have never met Cagalli."

"Yes…" Athrun agreed, his eyes suddenly misty, "Maybe meeting her was life's way of smoothening out the pain that all the fighting caused."

And once again, Meyrin could only try to ignore the pain that was building up in her heart. She stood up, about to make an excuse for herself when all of a stood, Athrun's eyes focused and he snapped his fingers abruptly.

"The comb!" He exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"The comb… Meyrin, did you happen to see it after breakfast?"

"Er… No… Funny… It seems to have disappeared."

The two of them searched the area around but ended up with nothing. Meyrin scratched her head.

"Perhaps one of them took it on accident… I'll check with them later."

Athrun smiled grimly. "There's no need, Meyrin. I have a good idea that one of them took it, and I'm sure it's not on accident."

"What makes you so sure?"

"The initials… I'm pretty sure there's someone else here on this island."

_

* * *

_

The girl finally managed to scale up the walls of the summerhouse, and when she finally fell into the room, she was panting, feeling obviously exhausted.

A man was waiting for her, and when she finally managed to catch her breathe, she stood up and faced him, looking a bit nervous.

"Is anything the matter?" She said at last.

The man held out a comb.

"Does this look familiar?" He asked coldly.

The girl gave a gasp. "My comb! Where did you get it?"

The man gritted his teeth as he passed it back to her.

"Miss Hawke found it. In the living room."

"Oh."

"Oh? Is that all you can say?"

"I…"

"I thought I told you not to come into the house."

"But I wanted to-"

"Haven't I told you? There are some rules that must be observed! You know you're only bringing yourself to ruin by not listening to me, don't you?"

The girl stood silently, a sullen expression on her face.

"Just remember, be _careful_."

The girl scowled. "Yes, I know. I won't screw up anymore. I promise."


	17. Rain

**Part 17**

Previously-

"_Haven't I told you? There are some rules that must be observed! You know you're only bringing yourself to ruin by not listening to me, don't you?"_

_The girl stood silently, a sullen expression on her face._

"_Just remember, be careful."_

_The girl scowled. "Yes, I know. I won't screw up anymore. I promise."_

* * *

"_But… It's hard, isn't it?" Cagalli said quietly. She was sitting on a chair by the bed where Athrun lay recuperating after he had escaped from ZAFT and deflected back to ORB. _

"_Cagalli…" He started as he stared up at her, but then she turned to him and smiled, a thoughtful and resigned smile._

"_Even though we all want the same thing when we speak, why doesn't it turn out that way?"_

A dream. It was just a dream – a stray memory that floated into her sleep and replayed with startling realism. Cagalli opened her eyes, sitting straight up in bed, and then immediately closed them again. Bright light shone in through the open window, warming her body and –

_Wait a minute, open window? Didn't I close it the night before?_

Cagalli tensed and whirled around immediately, and then she breathed a sigh of relief as when she saw Ryo sitting on a wooden chair beside her bed.

"Is anything the matter?" Ryo asked, noting the princess' short moment of nervousness.

Cagalli shook her head. "I… The window, I thought someone had gotten in since it was open."

"I'm sorry for alarming you. I thought it would be nice to get some fresh air into the room." Ryo said, frowning slightly.

"No, no, I'm quite alright." Cagalli, sounding a little irritated, perhaps more at herself than at her bodyguard. _Sheesh. I'm getting paranoid… Why did I freak out at a little thing like that? _

Cagalli sighed. She had spent the past two days cooped up in her room, trying to avoid seeing Athrun – or at least, being alone with him. It had been a grand total of 3 days since that fateful encounter with him where he had kissed her, and she desperately didn't want a repeat of it.

The day before, she had gone up to her room after breakfast and told Meyrin that she was going to take a nap. She only emerged during lunch, and subsequently, dinner. Athrun looked as if he had something to say to her, but she had firmly avoided making eye contact with him.

Yesterday, she had done the same thing, and quite frankly, she was ashamed with the way she was behaving. She had never been a coward. No, she was always one to look the matter in the eye and try to resolve it as well as she could as quickly as possible. This was probably why some of her decisions weren't the best they could be – she was always too rash, too spontaneous.

Ryo gave a little cough, and Cagalli focused her attention on him.

"Erm… Your Highness, forgive me for being bold, but I can't help but notice that you've been spending an awful lot of time in your room lately. Are you feeling all right?"

Cagalli forced a smile. "Sure! I'm fine! I've just been a… little tired lately. Nothing to worry about."

Ryo frowned. "Are you sure? You look like there's something really bothering you. Is it the whole deal about the attacks?"

Cagalli shook her head.

"Is it… Is it _Mr. Zala_?"

Cagalli's eyes widened as she took note of how Ryo had said Athrun's name. Though his voice was perfectly controlled, she could detect the faintest tremor of resentment, and it was clear that Ryo did not like Athrun at all.

Cagalli did not answer, and Ryo interpreted her silence correctly. He shook his head and clenched his fists.

"Always Mr. Zala." He muttered under his breath.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

Ryo shook his head once more and then smiled warmly at her.

"No… It's nothing. Don't worry, Your Highness, I can see that Mr. Zala does care for you. He's risked his life for you again and again. He wouldn't do it if he feel for you."

"I… I don't want to talk about it." Cagalli said, smiling wanly. "Come on, I need to get changed and then get down for breakfast. I'm starving."

* * *

After lunch Cagalli decided that she had had enough. She was the leader of Orb after all, and there was no reason for her to stay in her room and be bored to death just to avoid a man. She flung the door of her room open, and marched out to collide into a very surprised looking Athrun Zala.

Cagalli's hand was on the doorknob, and she had half a mind to retreat into her room again, but she decided against it. Instead, she squared her shoulders and walked right past him.

"Ca- Cagalli!" He called out once he had had time to recover from the impact when she knocked into him.

"Yes?" Cagalli replied, not turning around.

"Where are you going?"

"Out. To take a walk."

He walked up next to her and then smiled. "I'll go with you."

"Is that necessary?"

"Absolutely. Both Reyn and Ryo are busy, so I'll have to escort you."

Cagalli scowled. "Fine, go ahead."

The two of them walked out of the house, Cagalli skulking and looking a bit annoyed, while Athrun had a little smile of triumph on his face. Neither of them noticed a girl watching from a distance, and neither of them noticed the dark clouds hanging ominously in the sky.

* * *

"Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"Yes. I am."

"But-"

"Today's the fourth day, just three more and years and years of waiting for the princess to die will be over. Three days till my revenge, do you think I'll give this up?"

"Reconsider! There's the girl, don't you-"

"Quiet!" The man's voice was filled with agony and anger, and he slammed his hand on the table.

"You like her, don't you? You'll be ruining everything by doing this."

"No. I won't. I have a plan."

"The girl will suffer. The comb-"

"What about it? What about her? Why will she suffer, huh?"

"I- You- Just mark my words. You _will_ regret it if you carry out your plan."

* * *

Cagalli walked along the shore, slippers in her hand, enjoying the sensation of the cool waves lapping at her feet. Athrun followed close behind, and Cagalli was doing the best she could to pretend that he wasn't there.

In fact, she was pretending so hard that she tripped and fell into the water.

As she struggled to sit up, she could hear Athrun chuckling away. She frowned and then glared at him. Athrun smiled and held up his hand to her. She ignored it and stood up on her own.

"What's so funny?" She muttered, her cheeks flaming, as Athrun continued grinning.

"I was… just thinking of how you felt into the water too the first time we met."

"Hey! That wasn't my fault! You tied me up!" Cagalli said indignantly.

"So I did." Athrun grinned.

The two of them stood like that for a while in silence, when suddenly there came a crack of thunder and lightning illuminated the sky, and then it started to rain.

"Oh. GREAT. As if I'm not wet enough already!" Cagalli groaned as she looked up into the murky sky.

"Come on, let's find shelter. It's going to pour really soon." Athrun said, as he started walking towards a cave in the distance. A cave which, Cagalli thought with a sinking heart, looked dreadfully familiar.

"Can't we go back to the house?" Cagalli asked.

"Well… The house is kind of far. What's wrong with that cave?"

"Uh… Nothing. Nothing at all."

* * *

The girl looked as the blond-haired princess and the blue-haired coordinator made their way to the cave. She had been observing them for quite some time now. Now she stood still behind the tree where she hid, peeking out and ignoring the big fat raindrops that splashed on her body. Cradling the gun in her arms, she licked her lips and made up her mind. She would kill the princess and make him proud.

She waited until they entered the cave before creeping up to the entrance…

* * *

Both of them sat on the dirt floor of the cave, looking at the rainfall and hearing the pitter-patter of raindrops as they hit the ground.

"Cagalli…" Athrun said, "I… I have something to ask you. Why are you avoiding me?"

Cagalli's heart nearly froze up when she heard those words. At first she considered laughing and telling him that she was not avoiding him and he was just imagining things, but she decided against it in the end.

"I… Are you sure you want to know?" She asked instead.

Athrun hesitated before replying. "Is this about… my transfer to PLANTs? Cagalli, you don't even know if I've agreed to the offer yet!"

"But you want it, don't you? That's what you've wanted for so long, and now it's finally come true. Can you give up this offer without looking back and regretting?"

Athrun fell silent, and then he nodded slowly.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because…"

Athrun's voice trailed off, and he looked towards the opening of the cave in suspicion. Cagalli stared at him, looking slightly confused.

"Do you… Do you hear something?" Athrun asked quietly.

"Erm. No?" Cagalli replied nervously. Athrun narrowed his eyes at the entrance of the cave, and then inched towards Cagalli.

"Athrun, are you sure it wasn't-"

Just then, the sharp sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the cave.

* * *

Meyrin suddenly looked up from the book that she had been reading, and then stood up abruptly. There was a worried look on her face, and she was biting her lower lip.

Reyn and Ryo stopped their discussion as they saw Meyrin look anxiously out of the window.

"Miss Hawke, is anything the matter?" Reyn asked as Meyrin began pacing around the room.

"I just – Erm, well, have any of you seen Athrun?"

"I think I saw him leaving with the princess for a walk." Ryo replied.

"Erm… Ok…"

"Whatever is the matter, Miss Hawke?" Reyn said perplexedly as Meyin started to clench and unclench her hands.

"The thing is – I mean, I don't really have any solid proof or evidence or – I just – I mean, I think Athrun's in trouble."

* * *

"My goodness, Athrun, what did you think you were doing by taking that bullet for me?" Cagalli asked through gritted teeth as she watched Meyrin bandage his arm.

"My duty? I did promise to protect you. And besides, I was only hit in the arm."

"That's because the person had lousy aim. What if Meyrin hadn't come looking for us? We'd probably have a hard time getting back to the house with your arm in that condition."

"It's just my _arm,_ not my _leg._"

"But... But..."

"Speaking of which, did any of you manage to catch a glimpse of the person who shot at the princess?" Reyn jutted in.

Cagalli shrugged. Athrun, on the other hand, looked thoughtful.

"I managed to get a look at the person – a girl, I think. Rather petite, long hair. It was too dark to make out most of her features though."

"Ah. Well. Alright then." Reyn replied, sighing as he stirred his coffee.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?" The man said through gritted teeth. "You could have been discovered, or even worse, killed!"

"I was just trying to kill the princess." She replied sullenly. "It's not my fault that the guy had to jump up and shield her."

"I thought you promised me that there would be no more mistakes."

"This wasn't my fault!"

The man glared at the girl in fury, and then he raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face. The girl gasped in shock, and then her hand flew to her face, where his hand had left a red imprint.

"You... I hate you!" She shrieked, and then ran off.

The man sighed, and then he shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, Anne, but what am I to do? What am I to do?"

With that, Chief-inspector Reyn walked back to the house, looking about 10 years older than he should have been.

* * *

_A/N:_

_HELLLLO ONE AND ALL. I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SO LONG! GROVELS_

_Haha. It'll all be ending soon anyway! Just 2 or 3 more chapters and then Memory will be complete. (: Hang in there, folks._

_-Nacei_


	18. Discovery

**Part 18**

Previously-

"_You... I hate you!" She shrieked, and then ran off._

_The man sighed, and then he shook his head sadly._

"_I'm sorry, Anne, but what am I to do? What am I to do?"_

_With that, Chief-inspector Reyn walked back to the house, looking about 10 years older than he should have been.  
_

* * *

Cagalli sat cross-legged on the sofa, eyes fixed ahead of her as she dazed idly into space. Ryo was somewhere in the background as usual, making sure that no one was going to charge into the house and attack her. She closed her eyes, making use of the peace and serenity of the morning to try to clear her mind.

_Why are you still thinking about him, Cagalli? _She asked herself, _Didn't you say you were going to give him up? So do it! Be heartless, be cold, and just shake him off._

_But he took that shot for me, yesterday…_

_Does that make any difference? How does that change the situation?_

Cagalli sighed. This meditation wasn't helping one bit, if anything, it was making her head hurt even more as she argued with herself.

She opened her eyes slowly, and as she did, she found herself looking into a pair of gorgeous green eyes.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cagalli screamed in shock when she found Athrun's face just inches from her own. Athrun jumped back as well, obviously not expecting such an adverse reaction.

"Wh-What were you doing?" Cagalli finally stuttered after she had gotten over the initial shock.

"I was calling your name, but you didn't seem to hear me. I was just checking if you were okay." Athrun explained.

"Ah. Erm. All right then. Where's Ryo?"

"I told him he could go. I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Cagalli asked wearily. She was tired, and she didn't want to run anymore. Whatever Athrun had to say, she would just let him say it. But her mind was made up – it was impossible, and she wasn't going to let herself get hurt again.

"Us."

"Haven't we gone through that topic before?"

"Yes but, you never heard me out."

"What is there left to say, Athrun? We were once together, but now we're not there anymore. It's natural. Things like this happen all the time."

"But- But I don't want it to happen."

"Maybe we're just too different, you know?"

"How are we different?"

"You're a coordinator, I'm a natural."

"That's utter nonsense."

"Not really. I mean, look at Dearka and Miriallia."

"Cagalli, be reasonable. You know very well that that's not the real reason why you don't want to be with me."

"Athrun." Cagalli sat straight now, and she looked straight into his eyes. "Just stop. It's hopeless."

"Why?"

There was a pause as Cagalli looked down for a moment, and when she looked at him again, a sad smile played at the corners of her lips.

"I realize… I don't trust you anymore, not like I used to, not with all my heart."

Athrun felt his blood run cold she said the words, and they hung in the air, refusing to go away. Athrun clenched his fist, and then straightened himself.

"Is there… Is there anything I can do to make you change your mind?"

"I… Athrun… I… I don't want you doing things you don't want to do just for my sake. If you're doing something, I want it to be because you want to do it." Cagalli replied. "Do you… Do you understand?"

There was a long silence, and Cagalli found herself holding her breath as she waited for Athrun's response. Athrun's eyebrows were knitted, and his eyes were tightly shut.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, he smiled and his eyes flew open.

"I understand, Cagalli. But I won't give you up."

Cagalli stared at him in confusion and first, and then she frowned.

"Didn't you hear what I said?"

"Yes, and I understand perfectly."

"Then? Why aren't you giving up?"

"Because… Because I love you, Cagalli, and I know you still have feelings for me."

Cagalli's face flushed, and Athrun's cheeks were tinted with pink as well. There was an awkward silence between them as neither could find anything to say. Finally, Athrun gave a tiny cough and broke the silence.

"Well. Erm. I'll be going now. I'll erm… get Ryo to come back."

He got up to his feet, and walked away from the room. Cagalli's eyes followed his disappearing back and her ears strained to hear the fast fading sounds of his footsteps.

* * *

It was evening, and Ryo and Meyrin were out at the balcony talking, yet again.

The air was crisp and sweet, and the sky was vibrant with streaks of colour. Meyrin gazed out into the greenery around, and she gave a small sigh. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw Ryo tense up and frown.

"Is something wrong?" She asked him gently.

Ryo looked like he was about to say something for a moment, and then closed his mouth.

"Is it something you could share with me?" Meyrin probed.

"I… Well… Meyrin, I just don't want to see you get hurt." Ryo blurted out. At that, Meyrin's eyes widened in surprise.

"Me? Get hurt?"

"Yes. I mean, about Mr. Zala."

"Wh-What about him?"

"I know this may sound hopelessly insensitive, but… Have you ever thought about giving him up and moving on?"

Meyrin slowly looked down, and for a while there was an awkward silence that lingered in the air. After what seemed to be an eternity, Meyrin looked up again and smiled at Ryo.

"I have. Countless of times. But I can't." She said simply, resignation plainly showing in her eyes.

"But… But why not?"

"Because… I love him." Meyrin said quietly. "I know he doesn't reciprocate my feelings, but I don't mind. It's hard sometimes, and there are times when I think it would be better for me to just pack up and move – but not before Athrun gets into another relationship. Before that, I still have hope that he'll love me."

"What if he doesn't choose you?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm willing to sacrifice my time."

"For what?"

"I… I don't know."

Ryo frowned, and then he gritted his teeth. "You're a fool, Meyrin." He said, his voice was strained, as if he was trying to control his emotions.

Instead of looking insulted, Meyrin just smiled wryly at him.

"I know, Ryo."

"Why don't you just leave him? Why don't you just give up on him?" Ryo said in an unnaturally harsh tone.

"Ryo…"

"You know that he loves the princess, and I'm quite sure the princess loves him too. It's hopeless, Meyrin, don't you see that? It's hopeless for you to wait for him." He continued.

"Ryo, stop…"

But he couldn't stop. It was as if a dam had burst within him, and he was letting out everything that he once took such pains to hide and control.

"Why do you continue to hurt yourself, Meyrin? Why can't you see that- that I care about you and that I can make you happier than Mr. Zala ever can?" Ryo was breathing heavily now, and after the end of the tirade, he had started to cry. He crouched down, hands covering his face, and to Meyrin, he looked more like a sad and vulnerable child than a bodyguard.

Meyrin bent down, and then placed an arm over his shoulder, and then helped him back up to his feet. She withdrew a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to him, all the while her facial expression remaining a blank.

Ryo dried his tears, and then took a deep breath.

"Meyrin, I… I love you. Will you-"

"No." She said abruptly, cutting his question short. She turned around and immediately started walking away from the balcony. Ryo reached out and grabbed her arm, halting her in her tracks.

"Why not?" He asked sadly.

"Because – love isn't something I can choose. I know I can be happier with you, but I don't love you, Ryo. I never will."

With that, she pulled her arm free from his grasp, and walked away.

* * *

Athrun sat upright at his desk, it was close to midnight, but he felt utterly awake.

_There's something missing…_ He thought, closing his eyes and he probed deeper, _the girl – who is she? Where does she fit in?_

_There are 2 possibilities, finding out who the girl is would solve everything, but then again, there's the question of motive. Why would any of the 2 men want to kill Cagalli? _

Athrun flipped open the file before him, and re-read the summary of the case he had written.

"_1. The mastermind was an inside agent, and someone who wields quite a lot of power. He had access to the palace employment files, and could insert one of his agents into the palace._

_2. The mastermind is on this island (most probably in this very house), and hence the appearance of the girl and the comb, which someone had pocketed in order to avoid the fact that the girl was on the island from coming to light. _

_3. Ryo Handel was not the best candidate for Cagalli's bodyguard. There were a few other candidates that were much more suitable than him. According to the files that Kisaka had sent over before he was attacked, Ryo was about seventh or eighth in line for the job. It was Chief-Inspector Reyn who did the selection. Why did Ryo Handel get the job? Why?_

_4. Kisaka's attack – Reyn was in the room before he was thrown out of the window. Why did the attacker jump at just Kisaka, and not Reyn as well? _

_5. The fire in the hotel – Handel would have a very strong chance of setting the fire himself, and then pretending to be knocked out. Moreover, the fact that he could be stopped so easily is highly suspicious._

_6. The progress of the investigation at the police bureau sped up so much right after Reyn had left. The slow progress before could be attributed to Reyn's old-fashioned methods and stubbornness, but Reyn is the head of the police force after all. The fact that he got the position shows that he is a man of high caliber. It is highly illogical, then, that he would be unable to find out who the mastermind is after such a long time, and despite all the clues and patterns. _

_7. Kira had confirmed my suspicions after carrying out a few interviews that there were a few times during the investigation when one of the men suggested probing deeper into something, and was refused by Reyn. It seemed as though Reyn wanted to keep the investigations on a superficial level. _

_8. Handel was from Orb University. Though he denied knowing the other 2 men (Aaron Dayes and Gerald Anars), old articles show that the 3 of them were in the school's track team. Kira had also confirmed my suspicion that the 3 were good friends – again, through interviews with lecturers and alumni. _

_9. Handel was once the target for attack. He was once poisoned – but then again, it could be merely a distraction to try to throw suspicion off him. _

_10. There is a question of motive. Reyn's eldest son died in the second war. Could that have driven him to want to kill Cagalli? And what about Handel? There is much about his past that remains unknown. Records only trace his life from after his foster family is murdered. Handel apparently went straight into a military institution and trained to work with the police. What about before that? _

_11. The girl – where does she come in?"_

Athrun lay back in his chair. It was so close – just one more piece and the puzzle would be completed. He thought hard about the comb, and the initials engraved there…

_A. R. … Who could it be?_

Then suddenly he was rigid, and then he jumped up and extracted a file from a shelf. He opened it to Reyn's bio-data, and as his eyes scanned the page, he smiled in triumph.

_Children: _

_Charles Reyn (Deceased at age of 3 due to measles)_

_Caleb Reyn (Deceased at age 21 during the Second Bloody Valentine War)_

_Anne Reyn _

Just then, there came a loud shout from downstairs, shattering the silence of the night. A sound of a body hitting the ground followed, and then there came more shouts.

Athrun made sure his gun was loaded, and then stood up resolutely. He was going down to investigate.

* * *

Cagalli was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud sound. Her eyes flew open, and at first she thought it was a gunshot and that she was dead. However, as her senses came back to her and sleep faded away, she realized that it sounded more like a fight was in progress.

She lay in bed for a while; scared stiff and wondering if she should go down to see what was going on. At first, she had made up her mind to just stay in her room, but her inquisitive nature soon took over.

She swung her feet over her bed, unplugged the bedside lamp and carried it with her as she walked out of her room.

* * *

Before Meyrin could knock on Athrun's door, it swung open by itself and Meyrin jumped back in shock. Athrun tensed and looked as if he was going to shoot her for a second, but then his eyes adjusted to the dark and he realized it was only Meyrin.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a whisper.

"I heard people arguing. It seems to be coming from the pantry. I thought it might be dangerous so I came to see if you were okay, or if you wanted to go and investigate the matter."

Just then, a floorboard creaked and both eyes flew to the direction in which the sound came from.

"Calm down, it's only me." Cagalli said hastily.

Athrun stifled a laugh as Cagalli walked forward to meet them. Cagalli scowled and poked him in the ribs. "What's so funny?"

"Why are you carrying that lamp?"

"It's for protection! I don't have my gun with me, after all."

"What a strange weapon choice."

"Whatever, Athrun Zala. And anyway, I suppose the two of you are on your way to discover what the racket is all about?"

"Yes, yes. I think you and Meyrin should stay here – I'll go alone." Athun said. "It might be dangerous after all."

"Nonsense, Athrun, I'm coming along whether you like it or not." Cagalli scoffed.

"And so am I." Meyrin said quietly. Athrun looked at her with some surprise, after all, Meyrin rarely disagreed with his judgment.

"But-But-"

"But what, Athrun? Now lets hurry up and get there before something bad happens." Cagalli said, poking him once again.

After much reluctance on Athrun's part to allow the two women to go along, the three of them started making their way down to the pantry, and when they finally made it, they were greeted with a scene that they least expected to see.

The door of the pantry was wide open, and there were two men fighting inside – the Chief Inspector, and Ryo Handel. A girl stood watching them, looking anxious and frightened. In her hands was a small metal device, which she fingered nervously, as if not knowing what to do.

"Wh-What is going on here?" Cagalli demanded.

Everyone turned to look at her, and the two men stopped fighting and got to their feet at once.

"Your Highness, I can explain-" Reyn started.

"Your Highness, the Chief-Inspector is the mastermind, he's been the one all along." Ryo cut in loudly.

"Don't listen to him! He's the mastermind, not me!"

"His son died in the second war, he hates you, Princess. That's his daughter over there, they've been working to kill you, they both hate you."

"Your Highness, I've served your family for almost all my life – I wouldn't do this, I wouldn't!"

"I caught him coming down to the pantry today to plant the bomb. Look! His daughter has the detonator! I overheard their plans – they were going to run away and detonate the bomb. He was going to kill all of us!"

"Lies! Lies! This devil is the one that wants to harm you – he thinks you're to blame for everything! He thinks you killed his brother!"

"Your Highness, he's the reason why you're living in so much fear each day. He's the mastermind! He and that wretched girl over there, they were planning to kill you. You _have_ to believe me – Your Highness, Mr. Zala, Meyrin…"

Ryo looked at Meyrin pleadingly, and all of a sudden, something ugly flashed across Anne Reyn's features. She had been watching the scene quietly all the while, but now, it seemed as though something had become clear to her, and she didn't like whatever she had just discovered. She snarled and lunged towards Meyrin, dropping the detonator and whipping out a dagger from her waistband, carnal fury apparent in her eyes.

There came two shots. The first was from Athrun, and it caught Anne in the arm, causing her to drop the dagger, and it landed on the floor harmlessly. The second was from Ryo, who had managed to whip out his revolver from his holster in record time, and this one caught Anne squarely in the heart.

For a moment, Anne's body seemed to stand still in mid-lunge, and then her eyes went blank, as she landed on the floor in a crumpled heap.

There was nothing for a while as everyone watched in stunned silence. Suddenly, Reyn gave a cry of agony and then rushed toward Ryo, hands outstretched with the intent of strangling him. Ryo looked at the older man calmly and shot him in the chest before Athrun could stop him.

As Reyn hit the ground, something slid out of his jacket. It was a compact metal box, and it looked exactly like the bomb which Cagalli and Athrun found planted in Cagalli's office so many nights ago.


	19. Resolution

**Part 19**

Previously-

_There was nothing for a while as everyone watched in stunned silence. Suddenly, Reyn gave a cry of agony and then rushed toward Ryo, hands outstretched with the intent of strangling him. Ryo looked at the older man calmly and shot him in the chest before Athrun could stop him. _

_As Reyn hit the ground, something slid out of his jacket. It was a compact metal box, and it looked exactly like the bomb which Cagalli and Athrun found planted in Cagalli's office so many nights ago._

* * *

"It was… It was Reyn all along." Cagalli said numbly to herself.

"I know. It's quite unbelievable, isn't it?" Ryo said.

Cagalli let out a bitter laugh. "All along… It was Reyn. That's why the case dragged on for so long. He was the one who planted the assassin in the house. He was the one who planted the bomb in my office. He was the one who hurt Kisaka – he- he probably couldn't bear to kill him because of the friendship they shared. It was he… It was he who did all those things… But why? Why would he?"

"His son, Caleb, was killed in the Second Bloody Valentine War, after all." Ryo said gently.

"But- But he was my friend! Surely he would have understood that I didn't want the war to happen either?"

"Death… Can be a very powerful motivation, it can take away… All logic." Ryo said, in an almost dreamy voice.

Athrun turned and looked at him sharply.

"What did Reyn mean by you thinking that Cagalli caused the death of your brother?" Athrun asked quietly.

Ryo simply shrugged.

"Maybe he was just trying to think up of some lame excuse in the hopes that you would be distracted and turn to me instead. I… don't have any family so, a brother is definitely out of the question."

"And… What about Reyn's daughter?"

"What about her?"

"Why did she attack Meyrin?"

"I have no idea."

Athrun fell silent again.

It was about nine in the morning. Cagalli, Ryo and Athrun were in the living room, all of them looking slightly dazed. Meyrin, who had fainted shortly after the whole ordeal, was resting in her room.

"Is Meyrin alright?" Athrun asked Ryo.

"I went to check in her just now, and she seemed fine. I brought her some warm milk. She's asleep now."

"Ah. Alright."

"I'll… I'll go make some breakfast. I've radioed the police, they're coming to pick us up at around noon." Ryo said, standing up a bit awkwardly

* * *

After breakfast, Cagalli went straight up to her room to do a bit of packing. She sat on the edge of her bed, and stared at the empty suitcase, suddenly feeling extraordinarily tired. Her shoulders were slumped, and hugging her pillow to her face, she started to cry.

Suddenly, she felt someone slide an arm over her shoulder. She looked up and saw Ryo, looking sympathetically at her.

"Are you alright, Princess?"

"I'm… I'm fine. I just… I just can't bring myself to believe it."

"Neither can I – but then, all the facts are laid out."

"But- But I don't understand, Ryo! Why would he wait until now? He had so many opportunities…"

"Maybe he needed time to plan…"

"Reyn… No… I can't believe it. It must be some sort of mistake, Ryo, it can't be him…"

"You saw it yourself. Both Anne and him wanted to kill you."

"You-You said once that you were close to Reyn, didn't you? Did you know his family personally then?"

"Well enough."

"I… I still don't understand why she would want to lunge at Meyrin like that."

Ryo suddenly leaned over and gave her a hug.

"Don't think so much." He said, in what appeared to be a reassuring voice, but beneath it were tones of menace that Cagalli did not understand.

"R-Ryo?"

To her shock, she suddenly heard a sharp click. She gave a little jump, and then she realized that she had been handcuffed to the bedpost.

Ryo immediately stood up. He walked over to the door, shut it, and then turned the lock.

"Ryo? What are you doing? Why did you cuff me to the bed?" Cagalli asked a bit nervously.

Ryo turned to her and smiled – a twisted, grotesque grin.

"You're right, you know, Cagalli. It wasn't him."

Ryo took out his gun and pointed it straight at her head.

"It wasn't him – because it was me."

Cagalli gaped at him, eyes widening in shock.

"You? But- How? Why?"

"Didn't you say, Princess, that I looked like someone you knew?"

"Ah-Ahmed?" Cagalli said in disbelief. "No, no, that can't be. Ahmed would never hurt me. Besides, he's…dead…"

"Yes. So he is. Ahmed, you see, was my brother. My _twin_ brother."

"He…never told me…"

"I was sold when he was born, Princess. My mother – my _real_ mother – was forced to sell me off, a mere boy of five, for the want of money to tide through a famine. My foster family – well, they were more of slave drivers actually – they were wealthy, and they lived far from the desert. I became their little servant boy. Sleeping in the kitchen, living off scraps. All that crap."

"I was made fun of all my life. I was unwanted, and they let me know it, and their torture grew worse day by day. By the time I was ten, my life had been living hell. They beat me, starved me, and made me do their chores. But oh – I had my revenge in the end." A dreamy smile escaped onto his lips, and Cagalli shuddered.

"You…killed them, didn't you?"

"Why, yes. Rat poison in their soup." Ryo said with relish. "I did all of the family in, and got away with it scot-free. They arrested the cook, I think."

"Don't you feel guilty at all?"

"Why should I? They deserved it, even the cook. They were horrible people, all of them…" Ryo grinned unexpectedly, flashing his canine teeth wickedly, and Cagalli cringed. "And this is where Reyn comes in."

"Reyn?"

"Oh yes. Reyn. Reyn wasn't directly involved in this. Reyn was more of an accomplice. You see, Reyn and I, we go way back."

"What?"

"Reyn was the person in charge of the case. He was a sharp, shrewd man. While everyone else believed that I was innocent, Reyn could see that I had something to hide. He knew that the cook was innocent, but he could not prove it. So Reyn did what he thought would be the best for me and for society – he took me in. He sent me to a military institution, some sort of police academy; he hoped that I would be reformed. He brought me home and introduced me to his family. His wife loved me, as did his son and his daughter. They treated me like family. Outwardly, I pretended to enjoy their affection, but inside I found it sickening. Why were they doing this? They weren't _really_ my family.

"I could never really get along with people, I always found myself despising the majority of the people I met, but I remember the one person who could understand me – my twin. I vowed that I would be reunited with him one day, and hence, when I was sixteen, I managed to find out at last where my real family was. I arrived back to find my parents and the rest of my siblings, and what a disappointment that was! They were all blood-related, but still I couldn't fit in with them at all… and the one person who understood me like I knew myself, the one person I was ever able to feel natural and at ease around – he was dead, thanks to _you." _Ryo blubbered, his eyes wide and his hands shaking as he held the gun.

"He loved you, he loved you and you killed him!" Ryo accused, "And instead of mourning for him for the rest of your life, you went and gave the last thing he ever gave you to… to Athrun Zala!

"So I began formulating my plans, and well, I shan't bore you with all the details. I was just very, very lucky that I was able to find so many people who _hate _you." Ryo said, hissing. "My seniors in University, for example. Aaron and Gerald."

"But… I don't understand - Reyn- he-" Cagalli interjected.

"Reyn, Reyn, Reyn. Reyn's family adored me. When his wife died of sickness, the last promise she made him keep was to take care of me. Anne had this huge crush on me, and when her father found out I was attempting to assassinate the princess, she threatened to kill herself if he were to expose me. Anne offered to help me, and I more or less blackmailed Reyn into joining me.

"The first few attempts were all failures, and so I decided that it was time to take the game up a notch. It was time for me to get to know you, Princess _dear_. And I have to say, I still have no idea what Ahmed saw in you – you're a weak, blubbering little fool." Ryo sneered.

"What about Kisaka's attack? How did that come about?" Cagalli asked.

"Kisaka found out that I wasn't the best choice for bodyguard. It was Reyn who pulled the strings and made me your bodyguard so I could get close to you. Aside from that, Kisaka knew Reyn far better than any of you. He knew that with Reyn's capabilities, the case should have been closed long ago. He confronted Reyn. In normal circumstances, Reyn would have confessed the whole thing to Kisaka – but luckily, Aaron was outside waiting. Before Reyn could say anything incriminating towards me, Aaron jumped in and pushed Kisaka out of the window. He would have killed him, but Reyn stopped him."

"And- and the fire?"

"Aaron tripped you so that you would have to have a change of clothes and go off to some secluded area. However, you didn't spill anything on your dress at all. Instead, you broke your heel. But no matter, the plan still went off accordingly. I had to hit myself in order not to appear suspicious though, and Zala still saved you in the end."

"But you were poisoned – how… how could you have-"

"That poisoning? There was just enough in there to make me really ill, but not kill me. It was a red herring."

"But what about the bomb?"

"Ah. The bomb. You see, _I_ was planning to set the bomb off. Reyn decided last minute that he couldn't have it on his conscience to allow me to kill you. So he stole the bomb from my room, and he ran to the pantry to meet his daughter and get off the island. But I followed him, and we started fighting."

"Why did you bring Reyn's daughter onto the island then?"

"She wanted to come. Aside from that, I was planning to get together with Meyrin after this whole operation was over. I couldn't have a jealous, simpering little girl ready to expose my crimes still alive, could I?"

"You planned to kill her either way."

"Yes. Yes, I did." Ryo looked triumphant, and his hands were no longer shaking now. "And now, my dear Princess, enough explanations. After so long, I'm finally able to claim my prize, I'm finally able to avenge Ahmed – do you have any last words, Your Highness?" He said mockingly.

"Just this – you aren't avenging Ahmed. Ahmed would never have hurt me." Cagalli replied quietly. "And do you ever think that Meyrin would learn to love you after she finds out what you've done?"

"No. That's why she won't know. I put sedatives in the milk, just like I put them in Zala's coffee. After I shoot you, I'll carry her out and set fire to the house, and then I'll tell her when she wakes up that there was a gas explosion, and I could only get her out in time." Ryo said calmly.

Suddenly, there came a click, and both Cagalli and Ryo froze.

The door swung open, and there stood Athrun, a radio transmitter in one hand and a gun in the other.

"H-How long have you been outside there?" Ryo demanded.

"Long enough." Athrun replied, smirking.

There was a rush of static from the radio transmitter, and then the voice of the deputy came through.

"Ryo Handel, you are under arrest."

"Game's over, Ryo Handel." Athrun said, pointing the gun at Ryo's head. But to his surprise, Ryo started smiling instead. Instead, he inched closer to Cagalli, putting the gun straight to her temple.

"Not yet, Athrun Zala. Put down your gun or I'll kill your precious princess."

Athrun gave a sharp intake of breath, and the hand holding the gun wavered slightly.

"Athrun, don't do it, shoot him." Cagalli said, her voice surprisingly calm.

Ryo pressed the barrel to her temple menacingly.

"You'd better shut up." He hissed, and he turned to look at Athrun.

"So what's it going to be?"

Athrun slowly bent down and put his gun down on the floor.

Ryo smiled.

"Kick it under the bed." He instructed, and Athrun followed.

Ryo then pointed the gun at Athrun instead.

"Athrun Zala, my, my. This is unexpected. You didn't drink the coffee?"

"No. I never trusted you – and I guess I was right in that."

"Ah. Well. No matter. You'll die either way."

Ryo cocked the gun and smiled pleasantly at him. Athrun felt like punching him, although he knew it was perfectly impossible. Instead, he looked up and grinned and Ryo.

"You're jealous of me, aren't you?" Athrun said.

"What?" Ryo said in disbelief.

"About Meyrin, I mean."

"N-No. I'm not jealous."

"You are. That's why you hate me so much, isn't it?" Athrun taunted.

Cagalli was looking at him in plain shock.

"I am _not _jealous, Athrun Zala. Meyrin will be mine." Ryo said through gritted teeth.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Athrun said.

"Why?"

"Because, she's heard every single word you said."

"Wh-WHAT?"

Meyrin slipped out from behind the wall and stood in sight at the doorframe. Her eyes were pink-rimmed, and it was obvious that she had been crying.

"Meyrin! I… Please, I can explain!" Ryo said pleadingly, but Meyrin just shook her head.

Ryo's hands were shaking again, and then quickly, he calmed himself down.

"Die, Athrun Zala." He said resolutely.

He pulled on the trigger.

A shot rang out clearly, and then came the sound of a body hitting the ground, and screams of horror as it fell.


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Cagalli Yula Attha stood at the balcony. The courtyard had been decorated gaily with lanterns and colourful flowers all around. Deeply inhaling the scent of fresh flowers, she sighed and smiled softly into the evening sky.

"All ready for your ball, Your Highness?" said a voice from behind.

Cagalli turned around and rolled her eyes.

"Is this ball really necessary, Kisaka?"

"It would be such a waste not to hold it, there's so much to celebrate, after all."

"Such as?"

"Well, for one, the mastermind has been captured. The public now knows the truth about your absence, and you don't need to lie to them anymore. Kira no longer has heart attacks on a daily basis trying to govern Orb. I'm alive and kicking. You're alive and kicking."

"Mm."

"Your Highness?"

"Yes?"

"Are you… upset over Athrun?"

Cagalli smiled wryly. "What do you think?"

"Well…"

"He's gone back to PLANTs. Like I knew he would. How could he leave Meyrin when she's done so much for him?

* * *

_A shot rang out clearly, and then came the sound of a body hitting the ground, and screams of horror as it fell._

"_Meyrin!" Ryo cried out as she dropped to the ground. She had dashed out and blocked the shot. Ryo dropped his gun and immediately crouched down beside her limp body._

* * *

"Speaking of which, is Miss Hawke alright?" 

"Yup. Her life isn't in any danger. The shot just missed her heart."

"Oh, that's good to hear."

"Yes. I'm – I'm glad."

"Glad?"

"Yes. I'm glad that Athrun's with her. She deserves him much more than I do." Cagalli said, sounding as if she were trying to convince herself. "Now if you'd excuse me, Kisaka, I would like to… talk a walk by myself."

"Sure.

Cagalli walked across the room, trying to balance in her cream-coloured heels. _Great. I'm going to trip. Again. _She thought, feeling slightly irritated. _Why did they insist that I wear white? I'm going to dirty it the moment the ball starts! Stupid stylists…_

She walked out of the palace and into the courtyard, enjoying the night breeze. It was getting dark, and the lanterns cast a soft glow around the place. The moon hung up in the sky, round and bright.

For some reason, Cagalli found herself absentmindedly fiddling with the chain around her neck. She pulled it out and traced the ring she had strung through it- the ring which Athrun had given her such a long time ago. She remembered how both of them had blushed, and how she had burst out indignantly that he was using the wrong method to present a girl a ring.

And then she had giggled, and he had held her, and they had kissed.

Cagalli found herself smiling fondly as she recalled the good times they had, and she gently touched the ring to her lips.

"Well Athrun, I guess I can finally move on now. I don't want to, but I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" She whispered, as tears started to form. "I want to thank you, because you've taught me so much – because – because loving you has made me a better person. I… I guess I… I thought I could forget you in an instant but I can't… I still love you."

"Then why do you have to move on?"

Cagalli gasped and whirled around. There stood Athrun, impeccably dressed as usual, his face serious.

"Athrun! Aren't you supposed to be back in PLANTs?"

"I only went back to ensure that Meyrin was safe, Cagalli. I wasn't planning to stay there forever. But you- after I told you that I was going back, you hung up and refused to take any of my calls!"

"But- Athrun, what are you doing? Meyrin loves you! She saved your life."

"I know, and I'm thankful for that. But being thankful isn't equivalent to being in love, Cagalli."

"Athrun, you're a fool!"

Cagalli turned around and started to walk away from him, covering her ears and ignoring his protests. Then her foot (predictably) caught on a rock, and she found herself falling.

She closed her eyes and readied herself for the impact, but somehow, it never came.

When she opened them, she found one of Athrun's arms encircling her waist, and his other hand holding onto her wrist.

"Wha-What do you think you're doing?" She said hotly.

"Saving you." He said.

"I can stand perfectly by myself, thank you very much, now let me go!"

"No."

"What?"

"No."

"But-But… You…" Cagalli stuttered.

"Cagalli, look, I just want you to hear me out. I love you. I love you very much, and it's taken me a long time to figure that out. I'm sorry for leaving you during the war. I'm sorry for making you feel miserable. I- I can't live without you. Please don't push me away." Athrun finished, his tone almost pleading.

Cagalli opened her mouth, found nothing to say, and then closed it.

"Will you… Will you give me another chance?"

Cagalli sighed, and then smiled.

"Alright. I guess. But if you break my heart again, Athrun Zala, I'm going to hunt you down and shoot you."

"Ouch." Athrun said dryly, but the look in his eyes told of pure happiness.

Shyly and sweetly, their lips met, and Cagalli felt the weight of the past slipping away from her. She no longer needed to live in her memories, because her dreams were in reality, and ahead of her was a new beginning.

* * *

_A/N: And thus ends my first fanfic! LOL. Thank you to all of those who reviewed, especially those who have been there from the start. I LOVE ALL OF YOU. SERIOUSLY :D_

_**Cari-Akira!** Arisa Aihara! WateryStone! MiyuCagalli! KiraTatashi! ritachi! Sunflower Seeds! Elda Aranel! Dreams of Eternity! daisukiasu'n'caga! Athrya! Genny-chan! aizuhime! x3megurl13! Star-Moon-Angel! lunarstar07! outlanders! djanime2004! CagalliandAthrungirlforever! HaroTaro! Xx.Eternal Rain.xX! Kitty-Kat90013820! Shadow-Naka! Cagalli 27! beko! Chen0412! Kathya! FMAobsessed! AnimeCrazyLovingRoyalty! i Mel-chan i! X-19A Infinite Justice! Reflection-On-Chocolate-Milk! Airstriker! rabius! Chao Man Tou! akidarchangelprincess! Smokey-eyed-Beauty! Zaton!_

_(Hope I didn't miss out anyone ..;)_

_It's been a fun ride, and I hope you had fun reading it too! Peace._

_Love, Nacei._


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